Diesel vehicles to adhere to Euro 6 emission standard from 2018

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has announced that new diesel vehicles sold in Singapore must comply with the Euro 6 emission standard from 1^st January 2018. The stricter requirements will help to further reduce the emission of air pollutants such as fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

Euro 6 is the highest vehicular emission standard set out by the European Union (EU). Singapore will adopt it for petrol vehicles earlier, from 1^st September 2017. The current emission standards are Euro 4 for petrol vehicles and Euro 5 for diesel models.

The NEA said that it has began consulting the automotive industry early this year, and there will be sufficient lead time for dealers to bring in vehicles that meet the stricter standards.

Diesel vehicles that meet Japanese emission standards, provided they are on par with Euro 6, will also be accepted.

Responding to the issue, Mr. Neo Nam Heng, President of the Automobile Importer and Exporter Association, told The Straits Times that Japanese commercial vehicles are already compliant with the equivalent Euro 5 standard, and their manufacturers should be able to meet the stricter Euro 6 in three years' time.

Mr. Neo added that many European makes are already Euro 6-compliant. Chinese vehicles, however, may be affected by the stricter rules as they are currently not even Euro 5-compliant and may not meet the standard in time. Hence, they cannot be imported into Singapore.