Australia’s new Euro 6d-equivalent emission standards for light vehicles

On April 9, 2024, Australia adopted Euro 6d-equivalent exhaust and evaporative emission standards for the light-duty vehicles, including passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes of gross weight. The transition to the new standard will take place between December 1, 2025 and July 1, 2028.

Key changes and updates include the replacement of the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) with the Worldwide harmonized Light-vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), adding the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test requirement, and the adoption of requirements for on-board diagnostic systems and on-board fuel and energy consumption monitoring devices. These will all lead to a far more robust understanding of real-world emissions.

Notable improvements compared with the former Euro 5-equivalent standard include more stringent emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and total hydrocarbons plus NO_x (THC+NO_x) for diesel vehicles, and the introduction of a particle number (PN) limit for particles bigger than 23 nm for gasoline vehicles fitted with gasoline direct injection.

Australia’s regulatory impact analysis estimated over AU$6.3 billion in benefits from these standards between 2026 and 2040, 4 times more than the estimated total costs of compliance. This policy update presents more details on the scope and impact of the standard and compares it with the more advanced Euro 6e and Euro 7 standards already adopted by the European Union.

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