The European Parliament gave its final approval of new EU circularity rules covering a vehicle’s entire lifecycle, from design to end-of-life treatment, by adopting the Regulation on circularity requirements for vehicle design and on management of end-of-life vehicles.

Although there is a lot yet to be discussed, there is a positive message to be recognized already, because the new EU circularity rules recognize that a motorcycle has value throughout its entire life: when it is built, maintained, repaired, reused and eventually recycled. For riders, this means defending the things that matter:

• Longer motorcycle lifetimes: good engineering and durability become part of the sustainability agenda.
• Repair and maintenance remain essential: keeping a motorcycle on the road is part of the circular economy, not a problem.
• Parts and materials have value: a motorcycle is not just waste at the end of its life.
• The knowledge and skills of riders, mechanics and specialists matter: preserving motorcycles also preserves riding culture.

Motorcyclists have always understood circularity: we maintain, repair, rebuild and keep machines alive. The EU is now recognizing that this is part of the solution. The motorcycle community has always been circular. We were doing sustainability before it became policy.

This regulation is a framework that can support riders’ interests if implemented sensibly. The political discussion is now in the implementation details, especially making sure rules designed mainly around cars do not unintentionally harm motorcycles.

The new regulation now has to be formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers, before entering into force and being applied 24 months later.

Written by Wim Taal

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