The deadline for Bharat Stage VI grade fuel all over India has been set for 1 April 2020. Introduction of a higher grade fuel in India is undoubtedly a step forward. Let’s understand the finer nuances of the BS-VI compliance.

From 1 April 2020, India will leap from BS-IV (BS-4) emission norms straight to BS-VI (BS-6) norms and introduce BS-6 grade fuels. To cope with BS-6 fuel, vehicles need to be compatible.

This is going to be a creditable achievement as the BS-4 to BS-6 transition has come about within three and a half years of BS-4 emission norms by leapfrogging to BS-6 emission standard, skipping the BS-5 norms. Hence, the automobile industry has to work relentlessly to adapt to the transition and upgrade its models before the deadline.

 

What is BS-VI?
The Bharat Stages (BS) are standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the emission levels of air pollutants (viz. PM, NOx, CO, CO2 and hydro carbons) from motor vehicles by the introduction of upgraded fuels. The norms were introduced in 2000.

With BS-VI (BS-6), the Indian emission standard will skip the BS-V (BS-5) level and move directly to the more stringent and robust BS-6 level. The BS-6 standards are far-reaching in scope and incorporate substantial changes to the existing Bharat Stage 3 and 4 emission standards. Of particular note, it is the tightening of Particulate Matter (PM) mass emission limits and the introduction of Particle Number (PN) limits for light and heavy-duty vehicles (LDV, HDV) fitted with Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) or petrol and Compression Ignition (CI) or diesel engines. As evidenced by the adoption of nominally equivalent PM and PN standards in Europe, this step will likely lead to the near-universal application of Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) to control PM emissions from new diesel LDVs and HDVs.

Being the sixth mandate for vehicular emissions in India the Bharat Stage VI (BS-6) norm, which will come into effect from 1 April 2020, is seen as a much-needed move for controlling air pollution in the country. The apex court has asked automakers to bring their products in accordance with BS-6 norms by 31 March 2020, which will also be the end of current BS-IV (BS-4) norms in India.

The BS-6 standard will go into effect for all vehicles in India (barring army trucks) manufactured on or after 1 April 2020. The BS-6 proposal specifies mass emission standards, type, approval requirements, On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) system and durability levels for each vehicle category and sub-classes therein.

The adoption of the BS-6 emission standards will bring Indian motor vehicle regulations into alignment with European Union regulations for vehicles. As on date, BS-6 grade fuel is available in Agra and Delhi-NCR. By the time the deadline of 1 April 2020 draws near, BS-6 grade fuel will be available at all fuel pumps in the rest of India.

How is BS-6 different from BS-4?
The new emission standard will require both oil marketing companies and automobile manufacturers to tweak their respective products. For optimal results, BS-6 compliant engines will have to run on BS-6 fuel – as new generation engines running on lower quality fuel will emit a quantum of toxic gases comparable to that generated by BS-4 engines.

Fuel: One of the major differences between the two fuel grades is that the BS-6 contains 80% less suplhur content (10 ppm) as compared to BS-4 (50 ppm). Oxides of nitrogen (NOx), produced as a result of combustion will be brought down by 70% for diesel and 25% for petrol engines. Notably, the BS-6 standard will bring down the cancer causing harmful components of air pollution like particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10) in diesel cars by a phenomenal 80%.

The increased cost of refining of BS-6 fuel could also cause a slight price rise at retail outlets. With most oil companies investing to upgrade their refineries, any move to pass on the outlay to end users could raise the price.

Vehicle: The significant change will be the addition of OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) and RDE (Real Driving Emission) systems on all vehicles enabling real-time tracking of emissions. Diesel motors will include DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technologies.

 

How will the vehicles change with BS-6 norms?
With the introduction of the new BS-6 norms, On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) would become mandatory for all vehicles. The OBD unit will be able to identify likely areas of malfunction by means of default codes stored on a computer, thus ensuring that the sophisticated emission control device, which is fitted in a BS-6 vehicle, runs at optimum efficiency throughout the life of the vehicle.

Can BS-4 vehicles run on BS-6 fuel?
Petrol vehicles: BS-4 compliant vehicles can run on BS-6 fuel without any problems, especially if it's a petrol car. BS-4 petrol vehicles will run flawlessly with BS-6 compliant petrol – with maybe just a nominal drop of 1-2% of mileage. The reduction in sulphur content may lower the energy content of the fuel too, bringing down the fuel efficiency marginally. Ultra Low Suplhur Diesel (ULSD) could also exhibit reduced lubrication, and readiness to burn – a metric measured in cetane number. However, most variants of ULSDs are spiked with additives to address these concerns.

Diesel vehicles

These vehicles, however, have a different issue. The older generation BS-4 diesel has five times the sulphur content as compared to BS-6. A diesel engine employs a fuel injector to ionise fuel for combustion. Sulphur acts as a lubricant for fuel injectors. The use of BS-6 diesel in older generation BS-4 cars may make the injector wear out prematurely as low sulphur in the fuel will lead to less lubrication. Thus the fuel injectors may be required to be replaced with substantial usage over a few years.

Contrary to the apprehensions, as reported by Mohan Ghosh, a Delhi based Honda City 1.5 owner, where BS-6 diesel has been available for the last 7 months from April 2019, there is no reduction in power or mileage of his car even after using the BS-6 diesel over the period. Neither has Mohan faced any problem in his fuel injectors in the elapsed 7 months.

 

Can BS-6 cars run on BS-4 fuel?
Though the chances of BS-4 fuel availability after 01-04-2020 will be very less, for technically advanced BS-6 diesel cars, using BS-4 fuel can potentially cause a few problems, some of which could have a bearing on finances. BS-6 compliant diesel engines include sophisticated electronic units like the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and technologies like Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), which may be adversely impacted by high sulphur content in fuel. Higher sulphur content will increase emissions and also clog the DPF, an expensive component to replace. Thus, it is not recommended to use BS-4 fuel in BS-6 vehicles. And hence, one should defer buying a BS-6 diesel car before BS-6 fuel is easily available in the vicinity for sustained usage.

 

How do BS-6 diesel engines work?
The SCR unit reduces NOx by converting it into two harmless products – nitrogen and water vapour. SCR, which is housed in BS-6 diesel engines, uses AdBlue or diesel exhaust fluid to minimise NOx emissions. AdBlue is roughly composed of two parts de-ionised water and one part urea. When AdBlue comes in contact with exhaust gases formed as a result of combustion, the urea is converted into carbon dioxide and ammonia. The ammonia produced under the influence of catalysts in the SCR core, converts NOx into water vapour and nitrogen.

Diesel exhaust fuel is currently used in heavy vehicles, where the volume of NOx produced is much higher. In smaller passenger vehicles, AdBlue will be housed in tanks that offer around 10 litres’ capacity.

AdBlue is currently distributed through dealerships, and costs as much as Rs 127 per litre. With greater proliferation of BS-6 diesel engines in the market, the price of AdBlue is likely to come down. A full tank of diesel exhaust fuel can offer a mileage up to 10,000 km.

 

Can BS-4 cars legally ply after 31-03-2020?
As per the government, there would be no legal issue with BS-4 cars after 31-03-2020. The BS-4 vehicles would continue to run, much like when the BS-4 norms were implemented and we could still see older BS-3 vehicles on road.

While announcing a slew of relief measures for the auto industry, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured, “BS-IV vehicles purchased up to March 2020 will remain operational for their entire tenure of registration”.

As per the current law, a private car can ply on Indian roads for 15 years from the date of its registration. Thus any BS-4 car can be used after 01-04-2020 without having to face any legal problems for the next 15 years.

With the existing law, an old or used BS-4 car can be purchased after April 2020. A BS-4 vehicle registered even on 31st March 2020 is eligible to be used for its entire life of 15 years which is till 30th March 2035. Within this period, the car can go through any number of change of hands.

 

How are the car manufacturers affected?
The onus is now on the automakers. While the transition to cleaner fuel will help bring down harmful pollutants, car-makers will have to spend heavily to develop BS-6-compliant engines for their existing product line facing the competition. The cost factor is significant because it would ultimately trickle down to the consumer. With carmakers passing on higher manufacturing costs to customers, analysts are predicting a 10% increase in the pricing. Hence, buyers are in a state of confusion. Dampening the buyer sentiment is thus leading to an unprecedented slump in the sales of automobiles.

The high investment which the conversions entail has deterred many manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki from developing diesel engines compliant with the new BS-6 norms. Hence, Maruti Suzuki has already announced its plans of phasing out diesel cars from its lineup by April 2020.

With the deadline looming large over the horizon, prospective buyers are also shying away from diesel models of popular car brands, adding to the unsold inventory pile of manufacturers.

Automakers are also facing the compelling need to phase out old models or powertrains in the bargain to help them make this transition in time. The auto industry, which has been witnessing a slide in sales over the past couple of years, has to do away with and liquidate its stock of BS-4 vehicles before the Supreme Court-mandated deadline of 1 April 2020. To woo customers many manufacturers have introduced heavy discounting, while simultaneously investing in building BS-6 fuel compatible engines.

However, this is not the first time that car manufacturers have had to reconfigure their engines to meet emission control norms. The emission norms in India have been effective from the year 2000, and ever since the vehicles have been adapting to the changes.

As expected, car manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia Motors, and Mercedes have already launched some of their models with BS-6 compliant engines, both petrol and diesel.

Impact on buyers
The BS-6 compliant vehicles are expected to cost more since the automakers will pass on the additional cost of upgrading to the buyers.

The BS-6 compliant fuels too can be expected to be more expensive. The companies are working towards meeting the instruction by the Supreme Court to make available BS-6 fuel to 13 metro cities besides the national capital region by April 2020. Oil companies have already begun selling fuel, complying with new emission standards in Delhi from April 2019. As evident, fuel companies don’t plan to recover the incremental cost incurred in producing higher grade fuel from customers immediately, but may do so after April 2020, once the sale of BS-6 petrol and diesel picks up across the country.

 

Conclusion
Given the price sensitive index of the Indian market, the automakers will have to be careful while pitching for the customers who are yet to buy or are set to replace their vehicles with a BS-6 compliant model. The implications of higher refining costs for fuel may include a price rise anything between a few paise to Rs 2, which is likely to be charged as a special cess or duty. 

Above all, there is a bigger target to be achieved. India has some of the most polluted cities in the world. The health cost of air pollution in India has been assessed at a staggering 3% of its GDP and automobiles are often considered as one of the biggest factors responsible. It is imperative that automakers control the pollution levels by all means possible. Globally, since most countries are complying with Euro 6 levels of emission regulations, India needs to step up its game.

Vehicle owners, therefore, should come forward and welcome the change for the BS-6 drive!