India preparing to leapfrog to BS-VI emission norm from current BS-IV; new regulation to kick in April 2020
India is preparing to leapfrog to the new stricter BS-VI emission norm from April 2020 from the current BS-IV emission norm. Meanwhile the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a draft notification to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Under this amendment, BS-IV compliant vehicles built before April 1, 2020 won’t be registered after June 30, 2020.
The ministry has already invited objections and suggestions from stakeholders by December 20 for consideration. This new mandate is expected to boost the auto manufacturers’ drive toward transforming the vehicles into BS-VI compliance. While the move to implement BS-VI emission norm across the country from April 2020 has drawn flak from several auto majors, a major number of companies have welcomed the move considering the government’s step to curb alarmingly high pollution level across country.
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As we reported few days ago, Mercedes-Benz has already claimed that it is ready to roll out BS-VI emission norm compliant cars in the domestic market well ahead of the deadline. Delhi and NCR is about to see the implementation of the norm much ahead than the rest of the country and the German premium car manufacturer claims it is ready to meet that deadline as well.
However, it is not clear how much progress the other auto manufacturers have made to meet the stricter BS-VI norm. Speaking about the new norm, last year Indian government decided to skip the BS-V stage to directly enter into the BS-VI norm, which is expected to reduce the pollution level across the country by significant amount thanks to the cleaner fuel and less particle emitting powertrains.
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Due to the implementation of the BS-VI emission norm, diesel engine powered vehicles are going to be much pricier compared to their current pricing. Also, pricing difference between petrol and diesel vehicles under the new norm will grow significantly, as diesel engine upgradation to meet BS-VI norm is a pricey affair compared to upgrading the petrol motors.