SIAM welcomes progression to BS V in 2019 but says BS VI in in 2021-22 is unrealistic

The Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has welcomed the government’s decision to move over to BS V emission norms by 2019.

Commenting on the same, Vinod Dasari, president, SIAM, said: “Upgradation to BS V norms would reduce the pollution levels from the 4-wheeler industry by 80 percent in terms of PM 2.5 for HCV and 90 percent for passenger cars and NOx will be reduced by 60 percent and 64 percent respectively, thereby, making huge contributions to the ambient air quality of Indian cities. We are happy that SIAM’s recommendation to advance the BS V timeline to 2019 has been accepted by the government.”

However, for the country, in order to switch over to BS V norms, the requisite 10ppm sulphur BS V fuel will have to be introduced by the oil companies by 2019 across India before the new technology vehicles are introduced. In case of unavailability of the requisite fuel, use of BS IV fuel might damage the engine as well as the after-treatment devices fitted in the new vehicle. Also, this might vitiate the new technology benefits and the expected improvements in air quality. If the vehicle and fuel is not compatible, the higher emission norms cannot be met, said Dasari.

With reference to the upgradation to BS VI level by 2021-22 as proposed by the government, Dasari stated that intense discussions have already been held with various ministries over the past six months. SIAM has highlighted the challenges versus the benefits of advancing the BS VI norms from the AFP Committee recommended date of April 2024.

SIAM has proposed that the BS VI norms can be advanced to 2023 by compressing the technology development time by one year. Any further advancement of BS VI norms will neither be technically possible or advisable due to the extensive testing and validation of the technologies. Technology providers have expressed their inability to provide fully validated BS VI solutions for all types and models of four-wheelers before 2023.

Introducing technologies without proper validation and testing on the Indian roads will raise questions on several safety issues such as car fires which can endanger human lives and significant risk that should be avoided at all costs. Moreover, BS VI emission norms will not make any significant improvement in the PM 2.5 emissions in cars as there is no change  in PM at BS VI level and only incremental 10 percent reduction in HCV at BS VI. Therefore, for the BS VI level, it would be far more appropriate to have a realistic timeline from the safety point.

“We are confident that the government will take a holistic view keeping in mind the imperatives of both emissions as well as safety, before taking a final decision on the subject matter,” Dasari added.