Managing End-of-Life Vehicles, ELV, is one of the oldest industrial sectors in France, organized long before Extended Producer Responsibility became a legislative standard.
The 2020 AGEC law changed the rules significantly, putting manufacturers, importers, and treatment operators in front of new obligations and specific deadlines.
This article covers the current regulatory framework, its concrete requirements, and the challenges it raises for everyone involved in collection and treatment.
Summarize this article with:
🎯 TL;DR: The ELV Scheme
- Since January 2024, manufacturers and importers of cars, vans, motorized two-wheelers, and quadricycles are formally subject to EPR under this scheme.
- About 1.2 million vehicles reach end of life in France every year; the European Commission estimates over a third of ELVs across Europe disappear from the legal treatment sector.
- Recycler Mon Véhicule is the eco-organization option; Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, Iveco, and SAIC Motor have instead obtained individual system approvals.
- Recycling and recovery targets run through 2028: 85% reuse and recycling, 95% overall recovery, and rising parts-reuse targets.
Short answer: if you manufacture or import cars, vans, motorized two-wheelers, or quadricycles for the French market, you’re subject to the ELV scheme since January 2024. You’ll either join the eco-organization Recycler Mon Véhicule or apply for individual system approval, as several major manufacturers already have. The sector’s biggest structural problem isn’t compliance paperwork, it’s the persistence of an illegal vehicle-disposal circuit the EPR reform is specifically designed to close.
🔍 How We Checked This
The 1.2 million vehicles/year figure and the illegal-circuit estimate (over a third of French ELVs, about 4 million vehicles at the European level per the European Commission) reflect published estimates at the time of writing. Recycler Mon Véhicule’s approval (April 2024, through December 31, 2029) and the individual system approvals for Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, Iveco, and SAIC Motor are current as of the time of writing. The recycling and recovery targets through 2028 reflect the current specification; the December 2025 provisional EU agreement on vehicle design and end-of-life management was still being finalized at the time of writing, so treat its 2026 implementation timeline as expected, not locked in.
🚗 The ELV Framework Reconfigured by the AGEC Law
New EPR obligations for an old sector
The ELV sector has the unusual distinction of having been organized since 2006 under a European directive, well before the generalization of EPR schemes the 2020 AGEC law brought. That law reconfigured its scope: since January 2024, manufacturers and importers of passenger cars, vans, motorized two-wheelers, and quadricycles are formally subject to EPR.
The stakes are considerable. Around 1.2 million vehicles reach end of life in France every year, representing tens of thousands of tons of hazardous materials that can pollute soil and groundwater if treatment escapes legal circuits.
An illegal circuit is the main operational challenge
By some estimates, more than a third of ELVs treated or exported irregularly disappear from the legal treatment sector every year, a phenomenon the European Commission puts at around 4 million vehicles at the European level. The EPR reform was designed specifically to address this, by requiring systematic contracts between producers and treatment operators and making traceability mandatory for every vehicle across the chain. Abandoned wrecks in overseas territories get their own specific provisions, including a return premium in place since 2024 to steer holders toward approved circuits.
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🏢 Two Complementary Compliance Paths
Recycler Mon Véhicule and approved individual systems
Producers in this sector can meet their EPR obligations by joining the eco-organization Recycler Mon Véhicule, approved in April 2024 through December 31, 2029, and the first ELV eco-organization of its kind in Europe, or by obtaining individual system approval from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Several major manufacturers subject to the ELV scheme have chosen the individual system route, obtaining their own approvals: Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, Iveco, and SAIC Motor. This split forces ELV centers and shredders across the country to negotiate contracts brand by brand, which tends to weaken independent operators relative to networks already integrated with manufacturers.
A shift in treatment operators’ status
Since January 1, 2025, ELV centers have to be classified under the regulations for classified installations for environmental protection, replacing the former prefectural approval system. A ban on landfilling unsorted non-metallic shredding residues took effect the same date, requiring shredders to invest in post-shredding sorting equipment (screens, optical separators, densimetric tables). These simultaneous regulatory shifts add up to a significant compliance burden for operators whose margins are already narrow.
📈 Ambitious Targets on a Multi-Year Trajectory
Recycling and reuse rates through 2028
The ELV scheme sets numerical thresholds for material recycling and recovery running through 2028: 85% reuse and recycling, 95% overall recovery, plus rising parts-reuse targets of 8.5% in 2024, 10% in 2026, and 16% in 2028. Specific targets also govern plastics and glass recovered during treatment: 65% then 70% for plastics, and 50% then 65% for glass, both by 2028. Two-wheelers and quadricycles face even more demanding parts-reuse targets, reaching 40% by 2028, which will require significant growth in reusable-parts availability.
| Target | Milestone | By |
|---|---|---|
| Reuse and recycling | 85% | 2028 |
| Overall recovery | 95% | 2028 |
| Parts reuse (cars/vans) | 8.5% → 10% → 16% | 2024 / 2026 / 2028 |
| Parts reuse (two-wheelers/quadricycles) | 40% | 2028 |
| Plastics material recovery | 65% → 70% | By 2028 |
| Glass material recovery | 50% → 65% | By 2028 |
Eco-design and the electric transition
Beyond declarative compliance, ELV rules are pushing manufacturers to build end-of-life constraints into vehicle design itself, particularly material choice and ease of disassembly. The accelerating shift to electric vehicles brings new technical challenges too, especially traction battery treatment, whose recycling processes are still being industrially structured. The European Commission adopted a provisional agreement in December 2025 on a regulation meant to reform the vehicle design and end-of-life management framework, with provisions expected to add to national obligations from 2026.
💡 Tip: if you’re a smaller importer bringing vehicles into France, joining Recycler Mon Véhicule is almost always more practical than pursuing individual system approval, which is really only viable for manufacturers with the scale to negotiate their own treatment network directly. Don’t assume you need to match what Stellantis or Toyota are doing.
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❓ Frequently Asked Questions About the ELV Scheme
Who is subject to the ELV EPR scheme?
Manufacturers and importers of passenger cars, vans, motorized two-wheelers, and quadricycles placed on the French market, formally subject since January 2024.
Do I have to join Recycler Mon Véhicule?
No, joining an approved individual system is an alternative, though it’s generally only practical for manufacturers with enough scale to build their own treatment network.
What is the illegal ELV circuit and why does it matter to compliant companies?
It refers to vehicles treated or exported outside legal channels, estimated at over a third of French ELVs. It matters because the EPR reform’s traceability and contract requirements are specifically designed to close this gap, so compliance expectations keep tightening around it.
What are the current recycling targets for vehicles?
85% reuse and recycling, 95% overall recovery, and parts-reuse targets rising to 16% by 2028 for cars and vans, and 40% by 2028 for two-wheelers and quadricycles.
Does the EPR scheme cover electric vehicle batteries too?
Traction battery treatment is a live technical challenge within ELV, and battery recycling more broadly is covered by its own, separately expanding EPR scheme.
Stay Ahead of the ELV Scheme’s Tightening Rules
ELV compliance is moving fast: new operator classifications, rising recycling targets, and an EU-level reform all landing within a similar window. Getting your compliance path (eco-organization or individual system) right now avoids scrambling when the next deadline lands.
Start your free trial with Ekovio to manage your ELV compliance and track upcoming deadlines.
