Indian auto industry firm on BS IV April 1, 2017 deadline 

The Indian auto industry has not sought any deferment or delay in the implementation of the BS IV emission norms, which come into effect across the country from April 1, 2017. 

This confirmation comes from Vinod Dasari, president, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in a statement issued today.

Dasari’s comment comes after some reports in the media suggested that a revision of deadline was being explored. Dasari added that contrary to the misinformation being perpetuated by certain sections of the society, especially environmental activists, the auto industry is fully committed to commence manufacturing of BS IV vehicles from April 1, 2017, across the country. The auto industry has fully complied with all technical regulations in the past and will remain fully compliant in future also.

Statements suggesting that the auto industry wants to delay or postpone the upcoming emission norms are false and designed to malign the name of the auto industry, which is a key contributor to the Make in India effort.

Setting a global benchmark
Dasari added that the Indian auto industry has been the fastest in the world to upgrade its emission norms. While Europe took 13 years to implement the Euro 4 stage, Indian industry took only 10 years to introduce BS IV emission norms, which were first introduced in 2010. Therefore, the industry has been manufacturing BS IV-compliant passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles since the year 2010. Subsequently, all-India BS IV norms for vehicles had been delayed due to the non-availability of BS IV fuel across the country, forcing some categories of four-wheeled vehicles to remain at the BS III stage till April 1, 2017, when all India BS IV norms will become applicable to all vehicles manufactured from that date.

The Indian auto industry will also be the first in the world to leapfrog from BS IV to BS VI emission norms in a short span of three years by 2020, while even the developed countries took about 10 years and also progressed stage by stage without any leapfrogging. The Indian automotive industry’s record in respect of compliance with all technical regulations has always been impeccable, he added.

Also read: BS IV: Two-Wheeler OEMs ready and willing, some more than others