A new European Commission report reveals that only 22% of plastics used in car manufacturing are currently recycled. Brussels now proposes legislative measures to increase recycled content and build a circular supply chain for automotive plastics across the EU.

The European Commission has released a strategic report on plastic flows within the automotive industry, mapping key challenges related to recycling technical polymers such as ABS, PP, PA, and PC/ABS — materials widely used in dashboards, trims, housings, and interior structures.
According to the analysis, only 22% of end-of-life vehicle plastics are currently recycled in the EU, while the rest are incinerated or exported.

To address this gap, the Commission is preparing a set of policy actions that include:

- introducing mandatory recycled-content targets for plastic components in vehicles by 2030;

- developing a digital platform for material traceability across the automotive plastic value chain; 
- defining harmonised technical standards for sorting, compatibility, and re-processing of engineering plastics.

The study estimates that increasing the use of recycled polymers in car production could reduce CO₂ emissions in the EU automotive sector by up to 3.5 million tonnes per year.
A legislative proposal based on this roadmap is expected in early 2026.