New European Union rules governing how cars are designed, built and scrapped have been published in the Official Journal and enter into force on August 13. Regulation 2026/1738 merges two directives dating from 2000 and 2005 into a single, directly applicable law covering the whole vehicle life cycle. Its central measure is the bloc’s first binding target for recycled plastic in vehicles. New vehicle types approved from September 1, 2032 must contain at least 15 per cent recycled plastic by weight, rising to 25 per cent from September 1, 2036. The measure targets the roughly 3.5 million cars that disappear from EU roads each year and are shipped abroad or dumped illegally.