EU Revises ISO 15118 for Plug & Charge

On July 16, 2026, the European Commission released Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1389, revising the implementation framework tied to ISO 15118 and setting a new compliance threshold for Plug & Charge terminals placed on the EU market. From January 1, 2027, those products must pass both V2G readiness verification and bidirectional electricity metering compliance testing. For companies involved in EV charging equipment exports, certification, OEM supply, and delivery planning, this matters because the change reaches beyond technical specifications and into market access, approval timing, and shipment preparation.

What the new requirement formally changes

The confirmed change is that the European Commission issued Commission Regulation (EU) 2026/1389 on July 16, 2026, to revise the implementation framework for ISO 15118. Under that revision, all Plug & Charge terminals placed on the EU market from January 1, 2027 must complete V2G functionality readiness verification and bidirectional electricity metering compliance testing. The information provided also makes clear that this revision directly affects product design, CE type certification pathways, and OEM delivery cycles for Chinese EV charging equipment exporters.

Where the pressure is likely to appear first

Export-facing product development

From an industry perspective, manufacturers shipping Plug & Charge equipment into the EU are likely to feel the change first at the design stage. The reason is straightforward: the new market-entry condition is tied to V2G readiness and bidirectional metering compliance, so development teams will need to check whether existing product configurations, architecture choices, and technical documentation can support those verification and testing steps. What deserves closer attention is whether products already planned for EU placement remain aligned with the revised compliance path.

Certification and testing workflows

Certification-related businesses and internal compliance teams may be affected because the stated requirement changes the route products must follow before being placed on the EU market. Analysis shows that CE type certification planning can no longer be viewed only through the previous Plug & Charge implementation assumptions described in the input; it now has to be read together with the added verification and testing obligations. In practice, companies should pay closer attention to technical files, test evidence, and the sequencing between design completion and certification submission.

OEM delivery and procurement coordination

OEM programs and procurement functions may also see operational effects, since the provided information explicitly points to delivery-cycle impact. Observably, once compliance testing becomes a precondition for EU market placement from the stated date, supply agreements, model-selection decisions, and production scheduling may all need closer alignment with certification timing. Buyers and supply-chain coordinators should therefore watch for changes in product qualification status, delivery commitments, and document readiness connected to EU-bound shipments.

Practical issues companies should now track

Review whether current EU-bound models still fit the revised path

Analysis shows that the immediate task is not broad strategy but product-by-product review. Companies should examine which Plug & Charge terminals are intended for EU placement on or after January 1, 2027 and whether those models are already prepared for V2G readiness verification and bidirectional metering compliance testing. This is especially relevant where export planning, OEM commitments, and technical specifications were set before the revision was issued.

Recheck CE type certification planning and evidence packages

What deserves closer attention is the certification route itself. Because the input states that the revision directly affects CE type certification pathways, companies should revisit how technical files, test plans, declarations, and supporting compliance materials are being prepared. The available information does not provide procedural detail, so this should be understood as a compliance review priority rather than as confirmation of a fully defined execution method.

Watch delivery timing and procurement documentation closely

Observably, delivery risk may emerge when product design, testing completion, and customer handover are not aligned. Exporters, OEM suppliers, and procurement teams should monitor whether tender documents, purchase specifications, and delivery schedules need adjustment to reflect the new requirement date. Since no further execution details were provided, the key point for now is to avoid assuming that existing schedules or document sets remain sufficient without revalidation.

Follow later wording and implementation signals

It is more appropriate to understand this as a confirmed rule change with further implementation questions still worth tracking. Companies should continue watching for later official wording, certification interpretation, and market-facing compliance expectations that could affect how the requirement is applied in practice. This is particularly important for firms managing after-sales obligations, traceability records, or multi-party OEM delivery chains.

Why this should be read as both a rule change and an execution signal

Analysis shows that this development is not just a technical update to a standard reference. It signals that Plug & Charge access to the EU market is being tied more directly to V2G readiness and compliant bidirectional metering capability. At the same time, based on the information provided, it would be premature to treat all downstream implementation details as settled. It is more appropriate to understand this as a confirmed compliance direction that now requires close attention to how certification practice, tender requirements, and delivery expectations are expressed in the next stage.

How the market is likely to interpret it for now

For the industry, the practical significance lies in timing and scope rather than headline value. The change is already defined in regulatory terms and linked to a clear effective date, so it should be treated as an active market-access condition rather than a distant policy discussion. At the same time, a neutral reading is still necessary: the information provided confirms the new requirement and its likely pressure points, but not the full operational detail of enforcement. Current market participants are best served by reading this as a landed compliance change accompanied by an ongoing need to track implementation signals.

Basis of this article and what still needs verification

This article is based on the user-provided news title, event date, and event summary. For developments of this kind, source types commonly relevant for follow-up verification include official regulatory releases, publications by supervisory authorities, trade or customs authorities, industry association notices, standard-setting documents, and reporting by established professional media. A specific official source link was not provided in the input, so that point still requires continued verification. Further observation should focus on detailed implementation wording, certification interpretation, tender-document changes, industry feedback, and how companies adjust execution in response.