EU rejects industry request to delay new diesel emissions standards

The European Commission has rejected an industry request to delay the Jan. 1 introduction of a new emissions standard that seeks to limit harmful diesel pollutants in real-world conditions.

Industry group ACEA had written to Industries Commissioner Thierry Breton in July to petition for a six-month reprieve from the coming Euro 6d ISC-FCM standard, citing complications from the coronavirus crisis.

Because of lockdown measures, ACEA had estimated at the time that about 600,000 cars that were already built would not be able to be sold before the new standard took effect. The group also warned that production of some uncertified models might not be restarted, putting jobs in danger.

In turning down the request, the European Commission said EU and national recovery plans will help mobilize investments to support the automotive industry as well as make it more digital, bolstering its resilience.

“The commission indicated clearly to industry that regulatory flexibility should not entail any delay or rollback of EU environmental ambition and of our commitments on the Paris climate agreement and the European Green Deal objectives,” the commission said in a statement sent to Automotive News Europe.

“Strict environmental legislation is the best way to promote competitiveness and innovation. It is also important to ensure the trust of citizens that the EU can improve their health and environment,” the statement said.

Euro 6 regulations limit the amount of pollutants emitted by cars on the road such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, fine particulates and hydrocarbons, which pose health risks when inhaled.

Euro 6d ISC-FCM, meant to better replicate real-world driving conditions, will limit diesel nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 80 milligrams per km on the road as well as on a test bench. It includes a new onboard fuel consumption monitoring system, or FCM. 

A margin of error is allowed to account for inherently imprecise readings from testing agencies’ portable emission measurement systems (PEMS), although it is expected to be phased out by 2023. This means from January that a vehicle must not in aggregate emit more than 1.43 times the legal laboratory amount of NOx, a figure also known as the conformity factor.

To achieve the necessary reduction in NOx, carmakers are equipping diesels with even more costly exhaust gas treatment systems. This usually entails two separate selective catalytic reduction (SCR) stages, sometimes referred to as “twin dosing,” which can reduce NOx safely below 80 mg/km.   

By comparison, the fuel consumption monitoring system will provide regulators with anonymized data on efficiency, as well as the number of kilometers a plug-in hybrid drives in electric mode.

That follows a requirement in place since September 2019 that new cars continually conform to emissions standards once in use. This is controlled through random tests by type approval authorities as part of In-Service Conformity (ISC).

Together they should provide regulators the tools they need to ensure that certified figures do not vary wildly from real-world driving, as they have in the past. 

Along with the clampdown in on-road NOx emissions, they were passed as part of the Real Driving Emissions legislation. They were a direct result of the VW scandal, and designed to close legal loopholes for emission manipulation. 

Since the Commission believes all RDE measures taken will yield tangible benefits for the environment, officials were reluctant to acquiesce to the industry’s request for a delay.

Volkswagen Group, which accounts for every fourth passenger car sold in Europe, said it does not expect to be stuck with a large inventory of noncompliant vehicles. In addition, “end of service” provisions will allow manufacturers to sell off a small amount of remaining inventory after the switch to Euro 6d ISC-FCM.

“Presently we do not expect there to be any diesels that we will not be able to sell ahead of the new emission norms,” VW Group sales Christian Dahlheim said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call at the end of last month.