Govt may ask auto makers to launch BS VI cars that run on BS IV fuel

The government may nudge automotive companies to make Bharat Stage VI (BS-6) certified cars capable of running on BS-IV fuels. Such a policy could result in huge savings for oil marketing companies (OMCs) which are preparing for pan-India BS-VI fuel roll out.

Mercedes-Benz on Friday unveiled a BS-VI certified car which can run on BS-IV fuel.

“I am really happy that Mercedes-Benz has achieved this,” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on the sidelines of the launch event in Mumbai.

“I will report this certificate to petroleum minister that without changing the fuel if Mercedes can get success then why is this not possible for other automobile manufacturers,” he said.

“BS-VI will be a game changer for automobiles with drastic reduction in emission. We are sure other industry players would also follow and introduce BS-VI vehicles ahead of time,” Gadkari said.

Gadkari said that Rs 70,000 crore earmarked by OMCs for producing BS-VI grade fuel will be saved, if vehicle makers are able to produce BS-VI cars which can run on BS-IV fuel .

“The oil marketing companies have to invest Rs 70,000 crore towards refining,” Gadkari said.

India is expected to switch to BS-VI grade fuel across the country from April 1, 2020 from BS-IV at present. For this automotive manufacturers have been asked to switch to vehicles compliant with BS-VI emission norms from April 1, 2020. Both parties are thus making huge investments for switching to BS-VI.

Meanwhile manufacturers have expressed apprehension over the minister’s remark. “We feared that Mercedes’s move such as this would have a domino effect. We are investing heavily on BS-VI technology with the assurance that the said fuel will be available by the committed time,” a top executive from a leading car making company said.

“To get BS-VI certification we will have to reinvest in other set of testing and validation for it to run on BS-IV fuel. Technically, it is possible to run BS-VI cars on BS-IV fuel but this is not what we had budgeted for,” said another manufacturer from a Mumbai-based car company.

As per tests done by the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) the BS-VI compliant Mercedes-Benz S 350 CDI unveiled today produced 68 percent less NOx and 82 percent less particulate matter (PM) compared to a BS-IV car.

To be sure there are a few car models on sale in India which have BS-VI compliant engines but are fine tuned to run on BS-IV grade fuel. These are Skoda Octavia, Skoda Superb, Skoda Kodiaq, Volkswagen Polo GTI and Volkswagen Beetle, all of which are high-end models.

They, however, do not have BS-VI certification but are certified for sale in India bearing BS-IV engines. Progressively, as per Mercedes Benz India sources, all of its cars will be BS-VI certified and can be run on BS-IV.

“We are currently importing the BS-VI certified engine as a whole block but the car is brought to India in kits. Later on we will look to assemble this engine too locally along with other engines with our partner Force Motors,” said the source.

In January 2016, a combined decision involving four ministries unanimously concluded that in order to curb pollution the country will have to skip BS-V and jump to BS-VI. BS-VI is many times cleaner than BS-IV and BS-V.

The automotive industry is battling on two fronts, the onset of BS-VI in 2020 and mass electrification by 2030, which are investment-heavy projects.