Emissions standard
Euro 2
Checked on 23 March 1994.EUR-Lex, Directive 94/12/EC, Annex item 3: Euro 2 limit values for category M vehicles (as of 23 March 1994)
Euro 2 clean air zone status
Charged
A petrol car at Euro 2 is below the Euro 4 pass mark, so it pays the daily charge.
Charged
A diesel at Euro 2 is below the Euro 6 pass mark, so it pays the daily charge.
What is Euro 2?
Euro 2 is a stage of European vehicle pollutant limits. The first stage to split petrol and diesel. Carbon monoxide came down sharply on both, and the combined hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide figure roughly halved on petrol. Direct injection diesels were given a softer figure until 30 September 1999, at 0.9 g/km combined and 0.10 g/km particulates.
Euro 2 limits, in g/km
| Pollutant | Petrol | Diesel | Change from Euro 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 2.2 | 1 | 63 per cent lower on diesel |
| Hydrocarbons and NOx combined | 0.5 | 0.7 | 28 per cent lower on diesel |
| Particulate matter (PM) | No limit set | 0.08 | 43 per cent lower on diesel |
Which cars had to meet Euro 2
Euro 2 applied to new passenger car type approvals from 1 January 1996 and to new registrations from 1 January 1997. From that January 1997 date a manufacturer could not register a new car in this timetable below Euro 2. The gap of a year is the usual type approval lead: new models had to meet the stage first, then every new car sold.
Directive 94/12/EC is the first stage in this dataset to split petrol and diesel. Euro 1 had used 2.72 g/km of carbon monoxide and 0.97 g/km combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides for both fuels. Euro 2 cuts petrol carbon monoxide to 2.2 g/km and the combined petrol figure to 0.5 g/km. Diesel carbon monoxide falls to 1.0 g/km, the combined diesel figure to 0.7 g/km, and diesel particulates to 0.08 g/km.
Direct injection diesels were given a softer pair of figures until 30 September 1999: 0.9 g/km combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, and 0.10 g/km particulates. That derogation is in the Euro 2 summary because it is in the directive. It is not a separate Euro number, and it does not create a clean air zone pass.
What changed from Euro 1
The headline change is the fuel split. Petrol and diesel no longer share a single carbon monoxide figure or a single combined hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide figure. Petrol combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides drop from 0.97 g/km at Euro 1 to 0.5 g/km. Diesel particulates drop from 0.14 g/km to 0.08 g/km, with the 0.10 g/km direct injection figure available until 30 September 1999.
There is still no separate nitrogen oxide limit. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides remain a combined measurement on both fuels. A table that prints a nitrogen oxide number for Euro 2 is filling a blank the directive left empty. This site does not.
Petrol still has no particulate limit. That absence continues through Euro 3 and Euro 4. Euro 5 is the first stage that sets a petrol particulate figure, and then only for direct injection engines.
- Petrol carbon monoxide: 2.2 g/km, down from 2.72 g/km at Euro 1.
- Petrol combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides: 0.5 g/km, down from 0.97 g/km.
- Diesel carbon monoxide: 1.0 g/km. Diesel combined: 0.7 g/km. Diesel particulates: 0.08 g/km, or 0.10 g/km for direct injection until 30 September 1999.
Late 1990s petrol and diesel cars
Compulsory new Euro 2 registrations run from 1 January 1997 until Euro 3 takes over on 1 January 2001. The cars are late 1990s petrol hatchbacks and saloons, and the diesel cars of those years before particle filters became normal. This page does not attach market shares or failure rates to any model, because those figures are not in the legislation dataset.
A 1996 car is the straddle year. Type approval was already Euro 2 from 1 January 1996, so a new model certified in 1996 and registered before 1 January 1997 can hold Euro 2 early. A car registered in 1996 can also still be Euro 1. The year cannot choose between them.
Euro 2 still fails every car zone
Euro 2 is below Euro 4 on petrol and below Euro 6 on diesel. A Euro 2 car of either fuel pays the daily charge in every UK zone that charges cars. The direct injection diesel derogation to 30 September 1999 does not move that result: 0.9 g/km combined and 0.10 g/km particulates are still Euro 2 limits, not Euro 4 or Euro 6.
The fuel split matters for later stages, not for the zone camera today. A zone does not apply the 2.2 g/km petrol carbon monoxide cap at the roadside. It reads the recorded stage and compares it with the pass mark.
Example
A diesel first registered on 1 June 1998, direct injection
- Fuel
- Diesel
- First registered
- 1 June 1998
- Engine
- Direct injection diesel
- Euro 2 new registrations from
- 1 January 1997
- 1 June 1998 is after 1 January 1997, so a new diesel could not be registered below Euro 2.
- Direct injection diesels could use 0.9 g/km combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides and 0.10 g/km particulates until 30 September 1999, instead of 0.7 g/km and 0.08 g/km.
- Those softer figures are still Euro 2. They are not a later stage.
- Euro 2 is below the diesel pass mark of Euro 6, so the car pays in every charging zone that reaches diesel cars.
The derogation changes the laboratory limit, not the zone verdict. A June 1998 direct injection diesel is Euro 2 and is charged.
How to prove Euro 2 to a zone
Read V.9 first. If it names Euro 2, the zone will charge the car, and arguing about the 0.08 g/km or 0.10 g/km particulate figure will not change that. The pass mark is the stage number, not a milligram reading from 1997.
If V.9 is blank, a first registration from 1 January 1997 infers Euro 2 until Euro 3 becomes compulsory on 1 January 2001. A certificate of conformity that shows Euro 3 or later is the document that upgrades the record. Without it, do not claim a later stage from the shape of the engine or the presence of a catalyst.
- Check V5C entry V.9 for Euro 2, or the same field on the free DVLA vehicle enquiry service.
- If the field is blank and the car was first registered new from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000, treat Euro 2 as the fallback, not as a proof of Euro 3.
- For a direct injection diesel registered before 30 September 1999, remember the derogation is still Euro 2.
- Only the certificate of conformity can show a later stage on an early certified car.
- Send that certificate to the operating authority if a zone has the wrong stage on file.
Blank records, imports and the 1996 straddle
A personal import registered in the UK in 1998 can still hold a continental type approval that is Euro 2, Euro 1 or, if the manufacturer certified early, Euro 3. The UK first registration date infers the compulsory floor for a new car, not the actual certificate. V.9 and the certificate of conformity are what correct an inferred floor.
A Q plate still cannot be decoded into Euro 2, because the mark carries no age. This site does not invent a kit car emissions rule. If there is no V.9 and no certificate of conformity, the standard is not proved and a zone will not treat the car as a pass.
- 1996 is the type approval year; 1997 is the new registration year. Do not collapse them.
- Motorcycle and van dates are different. TfL's motorcycle rule of thumb is not this passenger car timetable.
- Unleaded petrol and a catalyst do not, on their own, prove Euro 2. Euro 1 already needed both in practice.
Common questions
- When did Euro 2 become compulsory for new cars?
- New type approvals from 1 January 1996, and new passenger car registrations from 1 January 1997. A new car registered from that 1997 date had to meet Euro 2.
- Does a Euro 2 car pass a clean air zone?
- No. Petrol needs Euro 4 and diesel needs Euro 6. Euro 2 is below both, so a Euro 2 car of either fuel pays the daily charge.
- Why are the petrol and diesel limits different at Euro 2?
- Because this is the first stage that split the fuels. Petrol carbon monoxide is 2.2 g/km and diesel is 1.0 g/km. Combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are 0.5 g/km on petrol and 0.7 g/km on diesel. Euro 1 had used one pair of figures for both.
- What was different about direct injection diesels?
- Until 30 September 1999 they could meet 0.9 g/km combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides and 0.10 g/km particulates instead of 0.7 g/km and 0.08 g/km. After that date the tighter pair applies. Both pairs are Euro 2.
- Is a 1996 car Euro 2?
- Only if that particular type was approved to Euro 2, which new types had to be from 1 January 1996. A car registered in 1996 can still be Euro 1. V.9 or the certificate of conformity is the proof, not the calendar year.
- Is there a nitrogen oxide limit at Euro 2?
- No separate one. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are still combined, at 0.5 g/km on petrol and 0.7 g/km on diesel. The separate nitrogen oxide column starts at Euro 3 on petrol.
- Can a Euro 2 petrol car use the TfL after 2005 rule of thumb?
- No. That rule of thumb is about petrol cars that meet Euro 4, generally those first registered as new after 2005. A Euro 2 petrol car is from the late 1990s compulsory window and is charged.
- Do these Euro 2 dates apply to a van?
- Not from this page. The registration dates here are passenger cars. A van can still be asked for Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel in a zone, but you cannot read those van dates off the car table.