A new trade deal between the EU and the US could make it easier and cheaper to register oversized US pick-up trucks such as the Tesla Cybertruck or Dodge vehicles. Mutual recognition of registrations and the elimination of high import costs are expected to make such vehicles more attractive to European vehicle owners, as the law network LANA AP.MA writes.
However, critics such as Transport & Environment (T&E) and the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) warn of the dangers to road safety. Oversized vehicles often have hard bodies, high fronts and hardly any crumple zones, which significantly increases the risk to pedestrians and cyclists. Experts therefore see not only human lives, but also general road safety threatened by large pick-ups.
According to T&E, the Cybertruck from the US company Tesla would not receive EU approval in its current form. Nevertheless, imports of such vehicles are increasing through loopholes such as individual approvals – around 7,000 pick-ups were registered in Europe last year alone.
The deal remains a matter of pros and cons: while proponents hope for economic benefits, experts warn of the high safety risk to the general public and that the deal could undermine key EU safety and environmental standards.11