Euro 4 fuel rule threatens car import industry

The Government’s action of leapfrogging fuel emission standards to Euro 4 for newly imported vehicles has disrupted the local auto industry, vehicle importers alleged.

Importers are worried that Euro 4 fuel standard for vehicles will reduce used imports to a great extent.

Basically, car and truck importers will be limited to importing vehicles no less than 10 years old, and those vehicles will need to meet the Euro 4 emission standards in force when they were built.

It’s good news for the country’s environment, but at least 10 per cent of foreign exchange being spent for vehicle imports goes down the drain due to the importation of additional inputs including Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system, they said.

SCR is an advanced active emissions control technology system that injects a liquid-reductant agent through a special catalyst into the exhaust stream of a diesel engine.

Motor traders were of the opinion that the policy makers should have given serious thought about the implication of their decision and the allof-a-sudden Euro 4 fuel introduction that will adversely affect the automobile industry.

It has affected average vehicle buyers as well as the commercial operations of all businesses and the franchise holders of brand new vehicle importers, they opined.

The exact guidelines are not yet clear and are very vague and even though a grace peri- od given to importers ended on June 31, 2018 the state authorities have not stipulated the categories of vehicles.

Whilst most passenger cars and SUVs imported from some countries will be compliant, there was a serious concern among vehicle importers on the commercial vehicles in the transport sector, they disclosed.

The requirement of Euro 4 standard for passenger vehicles is accepted for the sake of better environmental conditions even though it will make vehicles more expensive. The time period given to leapfrog towards importing vehicles with Euro 4 compatible engines was insufficient.

The commercial vehicle sector will also face a significant price increase, and in this instance one needs to analyse the pros and cons and the viability of introducing it to commercial vehicles, motor traders said.

This will make things worse for the business community using the commercial vehicles which will become more expensive than what it is today, they added.

The world renowned automobile manufacturers will need time in testing the fuel standards and will need specific standards set in terms of technical and tolerance levels of the new standards before approving new vehicles to the market.

The higher emission requirements will increase the cost of the vehicles by many folds, making them more expensive, they pointed out.