A silent revolution is about to upset the car market, writes today the French business newspaper Les Echos. This is Euro 6, the sixth European standard adopted in the last 20 years to reduce pollutant emissions. The new regulation, which will come into effect in September 2014 for new models, requires diesel engines to have emission limits as stringent as those for petrol. In addition to the particulate filter, widespread in 2011, diesel cars will have to be equipped with a nitrogen oxide treatment system.
Some manufacturers have already adopted Euro 6. BMW has begun to introduce from three engines that comply with the standard. And Volkswagen has also made some moves. In France, the Peugeot Citroen group began the conversion at the end of 2013. All these car manufacturers have adopted Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, a system which injects a mixture of water and urea on nitrogen oxides, to transform them into nitrogen and water vapour. A relatively expensive technique, which has the advantage of not weakening the efficiency of the engine and therefore retaining the advantage of diesel in terms of CO2 emissions. Renaul has instead adopted the Lean Nox Trap, a part of the muffler that serves to trap and transform nitrogen oxides. A cheaper choice, but one that doesn't last long.
And the problem is all here. These new technologies on the one hand allow vehicles to be more environmentally friendly, on the other hand increase their cost. In a recent study, CM-CIC estimated the average cost of an SCR at 700 euros per car, against around 500 for the Lean Nox Trap. In general, manufacturers expect a premium of between 600 and 1000 euros per car.
With these prospects, sales volumes are expected to fall. Manufacturers will not be able to charge customers for all the surcharges created by Euro 6 and consumers will often not be ready to pay more. The proof of all this? Renault and BMW have been offering Euro 6 engines as optionals for months, but few customers have chosen them.
Les Ecos devotes ample space to the news also because France is considered the queen of diesel. Even if something is changing. In 2012, 72,9 percent of cars across the Alps were diesel. In the first nine months of 2013 they were 67,9%. Accomplice, above all, the rebalancing of petrol and diesel costs at petrol pumps.
