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The Rediff Business Special / Veeresh Malik

Car market finds in Euro norms a supreme speed-breaker

The Supreme Court directives for control over registration of motor vehicles within the National Capital Region -- Delhi plus 12 neighbouring districts in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan -- has entered a new phase: the transport department in Delhi has ''temporarily suspended'' the registration of new private cars.

Manufacturers, dealers and customers... everyone is in a bind, ever since the SC issued the directive with a view to check pollution. The NCR accounts for 23 per cent of all cars sales in India.

Under the Euro-I norms, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions should not exceed 0.97 gm per km while carbon monoxide should not exceed 2.72 gm/km and particulate matter should be just 0.14 gm/km. Under the Euro-II norms, HC and NOX emissions should not exceed 0.5 gm/km and CO should not be more than 2.2 gm/km with no emission of particulate matter.

Without going into intricate details, the prevailing norms for non-catalytic converter cars are roughly six times the permissible limits for Euro-II norms, with Euro-I norms falling somewhere in between.

Owing to the SC order, no new private cars can be registered in the NCR. Cars adhering to Euro-II norms may soon be permitted registration, on ''self-certification''.

The format on this is not yet ready. Only two manufacturers, Mercedes Benz and Daewoo, have come forward claiming that they adhere to Euro-II norms. However, a few manufacturers have raised the issue of the quality of the fuel available in India. They say the fuel in India does not make it possible to conform to the norms.

A few odd situations have arisen in the wake of the raging controversy. A vehicle which is not fit to be registered as a private vehicle can, however, be registered as a commercial vehicle. Market sources say Delhiites who are desperate to buy new cars are seeking the "services" of "fixers and pushers" who can procure them, for a price, from Dehradun, Chandigarh, Hissar and Jaipur.

There is a talk that an exemption may be granted to private cars fitted with compressed natural gas or CNG kits, but no initiative has yet been taken in this direction.

Even the most vocal sources in the auto industry these days are careful not to go on record on the controversy because it involves the Supreme Court. The standard quotes are: "Matters are sub-judice"; "We've referred them to our legal department."

Current norms all over India allow for different emission levels for cars fitted with catalytic converters and for those not fitted with catalytic converters. Even the oldest of carburetor-fitted cars running on leaded petrol easily met such type-approval specifications. These were to run unhindered till April 2000, and were to be replaced by Euro-I compliant engines, and subsequently by Euro-II compliant engines by the year 2005.

For the NCR, the Supreme Court advanced the date for the imposition of Euro-I norms to May 1, 1999 (some say June 1, 1999. Confusion remains over the date)! The SC has ordered that not more than 1250 petrol-fuelled and 250 diesel-fuelled "motor vehicles" should be registered per month.

Euro-II complaint "vehicles" are to have no restriction on registration. All vehicles sold in the NCR will have to meet Euro-II norms by April 2000.

A confusion persists over the usage of the term "vehicles" which implies anything with at least two-wheels and an engine of more than 25cc. As such, registration of two-wheelers has been temporarily stopped!

There are two set of copies of the directive from the Supreme Court floating around in the market, both typed on the same manual typewriter. One claims that the date from which Euro-I norms are to come into effect is May 1, 1999; the other has a scribbled correction with an illegible initial, changing the date to June 1, 1999.

The confusion that ensued has led the Delhi government to totally ban all fresh registrations of all kinds of motor vehicles "till further clarifications come in".

The other reason for stopping of all registrations is to avoid charges of discrimination and favouritism for or against companies.

Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz and Daewoo, who claim their cars are Euro-II compliant have been asked by the road transport authorities to furnish satisfactory certification to that effect. Since that is not yet available, these cars, too, cannot be registered. When contacted, all that the company officials had was wails of protest, but no quotes.

Market leader Maruti exports its cars similar to the ones sold in India, but the export units are equipped with multi-point fuel injection equipment. The Maruti Zen / Suzuki Alto-Swift one-litre model meets the "B/light-green" levels of colour coding that comes into effect on January 1, 2000.

According to media reports, no car meets the "A/dark-green" standard yet. The other cars that meet the "B/light green" standard in Europe are the Mercedes Chrysler Corp-Smart, the Volkswagen Polo 1.0, the Ford Focus 1.4 and the Honda Civic 1.5 VTEC Eurodeck.

Maruti has gone on record saying it will upgrade the engines of all of its cars. The possible hike in production cost is being factored in by the company's top brass. However, a few reports indicated that Maruti has decided against any price hike due to engine upgradation. The company prefers to absorb the additional cost estimated at Rs 25,000 per unit.

Telco claims that all its cars are Euro-I compliant, but has not said anything subsequently. Telco is expected to fit anti-pollution systems to its petrol cars but there is still no word about what the company would do to its diesel-run unit.

Auto experts point out that norms are usually set after taking into account the engine technology, fuel quality, regular inspection/maintenance of vehicles and proper traffic management. However, in India, the current scenario seems to be aimed at engine technology in isolation, they say.

An aside: the prices of second-hand cars have climbed, and more older cars are back on the streets of Delhi! Meanwhile, those who need a new car pay a premium for one.

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