Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/985 of 12 February 2018 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards environmental and propulsion unit performance requirements for agricultural and forestry vehicles and their engines and repealing Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96 (Text with EEA relevance.)

COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2018/985

of 12 February 2018

supplementing Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards environmental and propulsion unit performance requirements for agricultural and forestry vehicles and their engines and repealing Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96

(Text with EEA relevance)

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Subject matter

This Regulation establishes

(a) the detailed technical requirements on the environmental and propulsion unit performance and permissible external sound levels for the approval of: (i) agricultural and forestry vehicles; (ii) engines with regard to their installation and the impact this has on engine performance; (iii) their systems, components and separate technical units; and

(b) the test procedures necessary to assess the compliance with the requirements referred to in point (a).

This Regulation also establishes the detailed requirements with regard to type-approval procedures and conformity of production.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘engine’ means an energy converter, other than a gas turbine, designed to transform chemical energy (input) into mechanical energy (output) with an internal combustion process; it includes, where they have been installed, the emission control system and the communication interface (hardware and messages) between the engine's electronic control unit(s) and any other powertrain or vehicle control unit necessary to comply with Chapters II and III of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628;

(2) ‘engine type’ means a group of engines which do not differ in essential engine characteristics;

(3) ‘engine family’ means a manufacturer's grouping of engine types which, through their design, have similar exhaust emission characteristics, and respect the applicable emission limit values;

(4) ‘parent engine’ means an engine type selected from an engine family in such a way that its emissions characteristics are representative of that engine family;

(5) ‘replacement engine’ means an engine that meets both of the following criteria: (a) it is exclusively used to replace an engine already placed on the market and installed in an agricultural and forestry vehicle; (b) it complies with an emission stage which is lower than that applicable on the date of the engine's replacement;

(6) ‘net power’ means the engine power in kW obtained on a test bench at the end of the crankshaft, or its equivalent, measured in accordance with the method of measuring the power of engines specified in UNECE Regulation No 120 (¹) using a reference fuel or fuel combination laid down in Article 25(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628;

(7) ‘transition engine’ means an engine that has an engine production date that is prior to the date laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market of Stage V engines and that meets at least one of the following conditions: (a) it complies with the latest applicable emission limits laid down in the relevant legislation applicable on 20 July 2018; (b) it falls within a power range, or is used or intended to be used in an application that was not subject to pollutant emission related type-approval in accordance with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96 on 20 July 2018; (c) it is an engine in the power range 56-130 kW, meeting the Stage IIIB requirements and installed or intended to be installed in a tractor of categories T2, T4.1 or C2;

(8) ‘exhaust after-treatment system’ means a catalyst, particulate filter, deNOx system, combined deNOx particulate filter or any other emission-reducing device, with the exception of exhaust gas recirculation and turbochargers, that is part of the emission control system but is installed downstream of the engine exhaust ports;

(9) ‘external noise-abatement device’ means a component, system or separate technical unit which is part of the exhaust and the silencing system, including the exhaust system, the air intake system, the silencer or any systems, components, and separate technical units with a relevance to the permissible external sound levels emitted by the agricultural or forestry vehicle, of a type fitted to the vehicle at the time of type-approval or extension of type-approval;

(10) ‘SI engine’ means an engine that works on the spark-ignition (‘SI’) principle;

(11) ‘track belt’ means a continuous flexible rubber like belt, reinforced internally to enable the tractive forces;

(12) ‘track chain’ means a continuous metallic chain which engages with the track driver and where each link is with a transversal metallic track shoe, the latter optionally padded with a rubber strip for road surface protection;

(13) ‘in-service engine’ means an engine that is operated in agricultural and forestry vehicle over its normal operating patterns, conditions and payloads, and is used to perform the emission monitoring tests as referred to in Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628;

(14) ‘maximum net power’ means the highest value of the net power on the nominal full-load power curve for the engine type;

(15) ‘engine production date’ means the date, expressed as the month and year, on which the engine passes the final check, after it has left the production line, and is ready to be delivered or to be put into stock;

(16) ‘vehicle production date’ means the month and year in which an agricultural and forestry vehicle passes the final check after it has left the production line and which are indicated on the statutory marking of that vehicle;

(17) ‘end-user’ means any natural or legal person, other than the manufacturer, vehicle manufacturer, importer or distributor, that is responsible for operating the engine installed in agricultural and forestry vehicles;

(18) ‘exhaust gas recirculation’ or ‘EGR’ means a technical device that is part of the emission control system and reduces emissions by routing exhaust gases that have been expelled from the combustion chamber(s) back into the engine to be mixed with incoming air before or during combustion, except for the use of valve timing to increase the amount of residual exhaust gas in the combustion chamber(s) that is mixed with incoming air before or during combustion;

(19) ‘tampering’ means inactivation, adjustment or modification of the emission control system, including any software or other logical control elements of such a system, that has the effect, whether intended or not, of worsening the emissions performance of the engine;

(20) ‘pollution control device’ means a component, system or separate technical unit which is part of the exhaust after-treatment system;

(21) ‘initial entry into service’ means: (a) where the registration of agricultural or forestry vehicles is compulsory, the first registration in a Member State; (b) where the registration of agricultural or forestry vehicles is compulsory only for road circulation or is not compulsory in a Member State, the placing on the market.

CHAPTER II

SUBSTANTIVE REQUIREMENTS

Article 3

Pollutant emissions

The manufacturer shall ensure that agricultural and forestry vehicles and the engines installed in them are designed, constructed and assembled so as to comply with the provisions applicable to engine categories NRE or NRS laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 and in the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto, with the adaptations laid down in Part 1 of Annex I to this Regulation; the specific requirements laid down in Part 2 of Annex I to this Regulation shall be also complied with.

Alternatively, agricultural and forestry vehicles and the engines installed in them may be designed, constructed and assembled so as to comply with the provisions applicable to engine category ATS laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 and in the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto, with the adaptations laid down in Part 1 of Annex I to this Regulation, where such vehicles are equipped with a SI engine and fulfil either of the following conditions:

(a) are equipped with a straddle seat and handlebar;

(b) are equipped with a steering wheel and bench seats or bucket seats in one or more rows and achieve a maximum design speed greater than or equal to 25 km/h.

The specific requirements laid down in Part 2 of Annex I to this Regulation shall be also complied with.

Article 4

External sound levels

In order to meet the requirements of Article 19(4) of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013, the manufacturer shall ensure that agricultural and forestry vehicles and their systems, components and separate technical units that may affect the vehicle's external sound levels are designed, constructed and assembled, and that their external sound levels are measured so as to comply with the requirements laid down in Annex II.

Article 5

Propulsion performance

For the purposes of the evaluation of propulsion unit performance of agricultural and forestry vehicles, the measurements of net power, engine torque and specific fuel consumption shall be carried out by the manufacturer in accordance with paragraph 5 of UNECE Regulation No 120, 01 series of amendments. During those measurements, the presence of the approval authority or technical service representatives is not necessary.

Instead of performing the measurements laid down in the first paragraph, a vehicle or engine manufacturer may attest the fulfilment of the requirements of the first paragraph by submitting, to the approval authority, an approval issued under the UNECE Regulation No 120, 01 series of amendments.

CHAPTER III

TYPE-APPROVAL PROCEDURES

Article 6

EU type-approval of an agricultural and forestry vehicle with regard to pollutant emissions

For the purposes of such an application, the manufacturer shall submit to the technical service responsible for conducting the approval tests an agricultural and forestry vehicle engine conforming to the characteristics of the engine type or, where applicable, parent engine.

Article 7

EU type-approval of an engine or an engine family with regard to pollutant emissions

EU type-approval in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 shall only be granted to an engine type or an engine family where it complies with the requirements with regard to pollutant emissions laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 and in the delegated and implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto with the adaptations laid down in Part 1 of Annex I to this Regulation; the specific requirements laid down in Part 2 of Annex I to this Regulation shall be also complied with. The application for EU type-approval shall be accompanied by the information folder in accordance with Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/504.

Article 8

EU type-approval of an agricultural and forestry vehicle with regard to external sound levels

Article 9

Extension of EU type-approvals

The EU type-approval regarding pollutant emissions and external sound level requirements may be extended by the type-approval authorities to different vehicle variants, versions and engine types and families, provided that those vehicle variants, versions, engine types and families satisfy the requirements on pollutant emissions and external sound levels set out in Article 19(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013.

Article 10

Subsequent changes affecting the environmental and propulsion unit performance

The manufacturer shall notify to the approval authority without delay any changes to systems, components and separate technical units that may affect the environmental and propulsion unit performance of the agricultural and forestry vehicles of the approved type placed on the market in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013.

The notification referred to in the first paragraph shall include the following:

(a) evidence that the changes referred to in the first paragraph do not deteriorate the environmental performance of a vehicle compared to the environmental performance demonstrated at type-approval;

(b) description of the engine type or the engine family, including the exhaust after-treatment system, in accordance with Article 11 of and Annex IX to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/656 (³);

(c) information in accordance with Appendix 2 to Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/504.

CHAPTER IV

EQUIVALENCE

Article 11

Equivalence of alternative type-approvals

CHAPTER V

ACCESS TO VEHICLE REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE INFORMATION

Article 12

Obligation on engine manufacturers

For the purposes of fulfilling the obligations laid down in Articles 53 to 56 of Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 and Article 8 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1322/2014 (⁵), where the manufacturer of an agricultural or forestry vehicle is not the engine manufacturer, the engine manufacturer shall make available to the vehicle manufacturer the information necessary to fulfil those obligations.

CHAPTER VI

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 13

Transitional provisions

From 21 July 2018:

(a) the approval authorities shall not refuse to grant an EU type-approval or a national type-approval to a new engine type or new engine family where that engine type or engine family complies with Articles 3, 5 and 7;

(b) the approval authorities shall not refuse to grant an EU type-approval or a national type-approval to a new vehicle type where that vehicle type complies with Articles 3 to 6 and Article 8;

(c) the Member States shall permit the placing on the market, sale and entry into service of engines complying with Articles 3, 5 and 7 or with Article 11 and the placing on the market, sale, registration and entry into service of agricultural and forestry vehicles complying with Articles 3 to 6 and Article 8.

Until those dates, Member States may permit the placing on the market, sale, registration or entry into service of vehicles or the placing on the market, sale or entry into service of engines in accordance with the requirements laid down in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96. The flexibility scheme provided for in Article 14 of that Delegated Regulation shall apply only to agricultural and forestry vehicles fitted with engines approved in accordance with the requirements of the emission limits stage immediately preceding the applicable one.

Agricultural and forestry vehicles type-approved in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 and equipped with those engines may continue to be placed on the market, sold, registered or to enter into service until the same dates.

Agricultural and forestry vehicles equipped with transition engines may be placed on the market, sold, registered or enter into service during the 24 months following the mandatory date of application of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market of the engine category concerned, as laid down in Annex III to that Regulation, provided that those vehicles fulfil both of the following conditions:

(a) they have a production date not later than 18 months following the mandatory date of application of Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market of the engine category concerned, as laid down in Annex III to that Regulation;

(b) they are marked in accordance with the requirements in point 2.1 of Part 2 in Annex I to this Regulation.

For engines of sub-categories of category NRE for which the mandatory date of application set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market is 1 January 2020, Member States shall authorise the extension of the 24-month period and of the 18-month period referred to in the first and second subparagraphs by additional 12 months for vehicle manufacturers with a total yearly production of less than 100 units of agricultural and forestry vehicles equipped with an engine. For the purposes of the calculation of that total yearly production, all vehicle manufacturers under the control of the same natural or legal person shall be considered to be a single vehicle manufacturer.

For engines of all sub-categories for which the mandatory date of application set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market is 1 January 2019, the 24-month period and the 18-month period referred to in the first and second subparagraphs shall be extended by 12 months.

For engines of sub-categories of category NRE for which the mandatory date of application set out in Annex III to Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 in respect of the placing on the market of Stage V engines is 1 January 2020, except for the engines referred to in the third subparagraph, Member States shall authorise the extension of the 24-month period referred to in the first and second subparagraphs by 9 months and the extension of the 18-month period referred to in the second subparagraph by 6 months.

Article 14

Exemptions

Article 15

Repeal

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/96 is repealed.

Article 16

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

Requirements for EU type-approval regarding pollutant emissions

PART 1

Adaptation to the requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2016/1628

PART 2

Specific requirements