Why Gadkari’s Plan of Rolling Out BS7 Norms Makes Little Sense

Bharat Stage 7 emission norms are slated to be enforced in India in the coming months

In this post, we are taking a look at the details of why BS7 emission norms might be extremely challenging to implement and cause problems for car buyers. We know that Bharat Stage takes its lead from Euro emission norms. However, even the European nations and heads of top car companies on the planet are opposing the requirements of the Euro 7 norms. Clearly, the laws and allowances with this upcoming emission regulations are so stringent, that it has baffled the carmakers. We know that the BS6 and Euro 6 norms were already quite strict and needed a few significant alterations, particularly to diesel cars. Let us delve deep into this case.

Brief History of Emission Norms

The Bharat Stage norms came into existence in India in 2000. However, the Euro emission regulations were introduced back in 1992. It all started with Euro 1. In this, the emissions from petrol and diesel cars were categorized under 4 broad sections – NO (Nitrogen Oxide), CO (Carbon Monoxide), HC (Hydrocarbon) and Particulate Matter. The amount of each of these pollutants per kilometre was recorded for each car. However, it was clear from the beginning that NO is the most critical component of tailpipe emissions from vehicles. These are proven to cause respiratory and other health issues for humans if consumed in large quantities.

Then came Euro 2 in 1996. Interestingly, by this time, the emission norms agency had realised that it was imperative to separate petrol and diesel cars since they emit varying degrees of toxic emissions. Hence, it was the first time that the requirements were different for petrol and diesel cars. That is one practice which is followed even today. Gliding along the timeline, we reach 2001 when Euro 3 emission norms came into existence. With each new set of norms, the amount of pollutants allowed from the tailpipe of every car was being reduced significantly.

It required extensive R&D to make petrol and diesel engines more efficient and less polluting. Hence, the development costs were high. Unfortunately, the prices were being passed onto the buyers which is one of the major reasons for consistently increasing prices of cars over the years. Anyway, Euro 4 norms were implemented in 2006 with even stricter allowances on all the aforementioned harmful chemicals from the cars. 2011 is when things took a major turn with Euro 5. While the emissions needed to be lower than Euro 4, the Particulate Matter emissions of petrol cars were also being monitored which was not the case until now.

This was due to the fact that petrol engines started getting direct injection and turbocharging technologies. This resulted in particulate matter from petrol mills as well. Hence, it became necessary to bring this into the calculations henceforth. Finally, arguably the biggest alteration in emission norms history came in 2015 with Euro 6. In this edition, diesel engines were needed to produce drastically lower emissions. To ensure this, carmakers devised new technologies like SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction). You must have seen Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) or AdBlue tanks in diesel cars from 2015. This was required to be added to the car so that the final tailpipe emissions from diesel cars were in line with the official regulations.

This was not the only major change introduced in Euro 6 norms. You see, until 2015 or Euro 5, the cars were tested inside labs to see whether or not they were compatible with the prevailing emission regulations. Once the cars were out on the road, the constant monitoring was not there. To remedy that, Euro 6 brought with it the RDE (Real-World Driving Emissions). In this, the cars were tested out on roads under various conditions to ensure that the promised pollution levels were constant throughout the operation of the cars. This changed the whole game and this time is marked by the infamous diesel-gate scandal of Volkswagen. Here are the details of the NO emission regulations since Euro 1:

Why BS7 Emission Norms Make Little Sense?

Since BS norms follow the Euro emission norms, it is mandatory to see what Euro 7 is proposing. Slated to be implemented by the middle of this year (around July 2025), the NO requirements for diesel and petrol are 60 mg/km. That will need an incredible amount of technology since even with things like SCR and AdBlue, the carmakers were barely about to reach 80 mg/km with Euro 6. Furthermore, with advanced RDE, cars need to maintain their pollution levels even at very high altitude scenarios. Now, that is extremely tough since at high altitudes cars are often driven at full throttle. Hence, it is nigh impossible to control emissions in such conditions. It is particularly treacherous for commercial vehicles which carry huge loads across mountainous regions of the world. That is exactly what the carmakers are arguing.

As a consequence, the European parliament, nations and top bosses of companies like BMW, Daimler, Stellantis, Iveco, Volvo, etc., are raising voices against the implementation of these regulations. In fact, BMW CEO, Oliver Zipse deemed Euro 7 norms “entirely unfeasible”. Moreover, until Euro 6, the emission norms were needed to be maintained by cars for at least 5 years / 1,00,000 km. But with Euro 6, these numbers have been increased to 10 years / 2,00,000 km. To ensure compliance for such a long period of ownership is difficult. Yet another aspect which is bothering carmakers with Euro 7 is the cold start emissions.

Note that the catalytic converters, which reduce the emissions from engines so that the tailpipe pollutants are reduced, need extremely high temperatures to operate. This is around 400 degrees Celsius. This is possible by using the heat from the engine of a car once it starts. However, it you are driving only for a couple of km, the emissions in such cases will be high because the appropriate temperature for the catalytic converter to function properly has not been reached. Euro 7 asked that cars should emit only the required chemicals right from the start. To achieve this, an auxiliary heater or a similar component must be added to a car. That will make the costs much higher.

Finally, an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) monitor must also be installed on the latest cars to keep checking the real-world emissions of a car at all times. Once it detects that there is an issue, it will show an error to the driver which he/she will need to fix. If not, it can even stop the car from moving at all. The Euro 7 emission norms will also take into consideration non-tailpipe particulate matter pollutants. This includes the tyres and brakes of a car. These often emit tiny particles which cause pollution. Interestingly, Euro 7 norms also want EV batteries to be more durable since the construction of these batteries causes a huge environmental degradation on multiple levels.

Since all these factors are too drastic and will result in a huge increase in the overall costs of the vehicles, it makes little sense to bring in such harsh emission norms. People will use their old vehicles for longer durations to avoid shelling out huge amounts of money. That will defeat the purpose of new emission norms. In fact, older vehicles will keep generating more pollution with time which is counter-productive. Hence, after facing strong opposition from EU nations and top carmakers, the Euro agency is rethinking the exact details of the upcoming regulations. That is what will affect the Bharat State 7 norms as well. Hence, I will keep a close eye on how things shape up in times to come.

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Also Read: New Bharat Stage 7 (BS7) Emission Norms Explained