Producer responsibility for cars

Businesses that manufacture, import or otherwise bring in passenger cars, buses and light trucks (max 3,500 kg) and place them on the Swedish market have Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Sweden. Businesses covered by EPR (i.e. producers) have to register with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A producer is to accept an end-of-life car for scrapping without compensation if:

1. the manufacturer made the car in Sweden or professionally brought it into Sweden, or
2. there is no producer responsible for the car under the preceding point.

A producer may claim appropriate compensation if the car lacks components such as an engine, gearbox or other essential and economically equivalent parts. End-of-life cars are classified as hazardous. 

The producer is to ensure, personally or with other economic operators, that one or more appropriate reception systems are available.

A reception system is to be considered appropriate if:

• the car owner can deliver an end-of-life car or car part to the reception system within a distance of 50 kilometers or within the municipality where the car owner is located; 
• delivery is free for the last car owner. If the car does not have essential parts, the car dismantler has the right to charge a fee.

An end-of-life car or car delivered to the reception system is to be disposed of for scrapping by an authorised dismantler. The handling of end-of-life cars is governed by Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles (the ELV Directive). 

In Swedish law the ELV Directive has been implemented in the ordinance (2007:185) on producer responsibility for cars, the ordinance on car scrapping (2007:186) and the ordinance (2003:208) prohibiting certain metals in cars.

• Information on car manufacturers’ common reception systems for end-of-life cars (at BilRetur.se)
• Information about authorised car scrappers on the website of the Swedish Car Recyclers Association

A producer is responsible for providing information about how cars are constructed, environmentally sound ways to dismantle them and how cars are to be recycled. 

Producer responsibility for cars includes reporting requirements under the ordinance (2023:132) on producer responsibility for cars. For the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, a producer is to annually:

1. report the manner in which the producer has fulfilled obligations under the ordinance;
2. compile and submit the information received by the producer from authorised car scrappers. 

Mobility Sweden administers a web-based reporting system where authorised car scrappers can submit reports as required by the car scrapping ordinance. In the reporting system, authorised car scrappers can provide the information that producers need to complete the report to the Swedish EPA. Mobility Sweden compiles and submits the information received by the producer from authorised car scrappers to the Swedish EPA on behalf of the producers. Mobility Sweden is the trade association for manufacturers and importers of passenger cars, lorries and buses.

The reporting system (materialredovisning.se)

The car manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that the reuse and recycling of cars functions satisfactorily. Responsibilities include accounting, information and meeting the targets for reuse and recycling. 

• To facilitate reuse and recycling, a producer is to provide information on the materials, components and hazardous substances contained in the cars manufactured or brought into Sweden by the producer.
• The manufacturer is to ensure that authorised car scrappers have access to instructions on dismantling and drainage.
• The producer is to ensure that the materials or components are reused as the first option. Alternatively, recycling takes precedence over energy recovery.
• A producer is to ensure that the following targets for reuse and recovery are achieved:
  - at least 95 per-cent of the weight of the car is to be reused or recycled.
  - regarding the reuse and recycling referred to above, at least 85 per cent of the weight of the car is to be reused or material is to be recovered.

To enable the Swedish EPA to follow up on how Sweden lives up to the national reuse and recycling targets, there are reporting requirements for the disposal and handling of end-of-life vehicles.

The Swedish EPA has the central supervisory guidance and follow-up responsibility for producer responsibility for cars. This means that we guide regulatory authorities and pass along the information of car manufacturers according to Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles to the European Union.