Gasgoo.com (Shanghai May 9th)– Currently, it’s confirmed by Ministry of Environmental Protection that “Beijing Six” Emission Standards have been abolished, and its replacement, “National Six”, is now under draft.
The biggest difference between the above two standards lies in the fact that “Beijing Six” follows a stricter California Phase III Emission Standard, while “National Six” uses a European standard, the same as the previous standards adopted by the government. The great difference has aroused conflicts between them.
Controversial “Two Standards”
Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau solicited public opinions on Motor Vehicle Local Emission Standards in Phase Six at the end of 2015, which was abolished before official implementation.
The abolishment of “Beijing Six” embraced unanimous endorsements from the whole industry. Some experts said that, automobile companies, especially those having self-owned brands, will suffer most under “Beijing Six”. “Self-owned brands have a low profit and a strict cost controlling process, and are reluctant to pay certification fees. They will wait to enter Beijing Market until the launching of “National Six”. A broken link in products will result in the dealership system crash and loss of market shares, doing great harm to self-owned brands’ development.”
Besides, if “Beijing Six” is adopted, several thousand models will be updated and dozens of billion certification fees will be paid, which is a great cost waste for companies.
Waiting for “National Six”
The view of launching “National Six” as early as possible and leaving sufficient buffering time is held by most experts.
According to schedule given by Ministry of Environmental Protection, the draft of “National Six” will be completed by the end of 2016. But there is no clear information whether Beijing will take the lead in carrying out “National Six” or when will it implement it.
Some experts suggest leaving a two-year buffering time from the issuing to implementation of standards. It will generally take three to six months to develop a model, and technological problems should be considered first. Currently, companies could plan and design products according to “European Six”.
Auto Companies will Meet the Challenges
Companies face great problems in updating “National Six”.
On one hand, the more complicated OBD Online Diagnosis System adds more costs to companies. Besides, it’s a challenge for companies to follow the market trend and meet customers’ demands, while complying with laws and regulations.
No matter which standard will be adopted, the updating of standards is an inevitable trend.
