Carlow MEP calls for closure of EU loophole that always dangerous SUVs in Europe

Ireland South and Carlow MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a member of the EU Transport committee, has backed calls by the European Transport Safety Council to close a loophole in EU law that has seen a 20% increase in oversized SUVs and Pickups imported from the US to Europe.

Nearly 5,000 Dodge RAMs alone were brought into Europe in 2023, up 20% compared to 2022. US pickup trucks and SUV imports are availing of a loophole in our laws whereby they are not required to comply with all EU safety and environmental standards as they are imported through a back-door channel called “Individual Vehicle Approval”. Ní Mhurchú has backed calls by a number of EU transport lobby groups on the EU commission to close the loophole.

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According to Ní Mhurchú some cars are just too big for Irish and European roads and car parking spaces,

“Due to a loophole in the law, these trucks coming in from the US can bypass current EU environmental and safety regulations. Many of these bigger trucks don’t fit in our car parking spaces in Europe, they don’t fit on our rural roads and they pose a danger to other drivers at a time when Ireland is struggling with high road deaths. Dodge RAMs make up 60% of these IVA imports, and have 3 to 9 times higher emissions than the average new European car"

Ní Mhurchú described some of these imported Pickup Trucks as a danger to small children,

“Many of these trucks have dangerously high bonnets, with the vehicle’s leading front edge often standing 1.3 metres from ground level. The result is that children up to 10 years old standing or walking in front can be obscured by the vehicle’s bonnet height, and therefore unseen by the driver”

Ní Mhurchú has welcomed news that the EU Commission is aware of the issue and is promising reform of the loophole.