The Euro 6C standard has put the ANAC in tension with the ruling party over the dates on which it would come into force. Now, the final date must be established by the Ministry of the Environment.
Government news released alert to the national automotive sector a month ago and confronted the ruling party with the National Automobile Association of Chile (ANAC), a union that came to stress that it would go to the World Trade Organization to defend the rights of its associates.
The dispute arose from the date on which it was to begin govern the Euro 6C standard . Although for two years it was stipulated that said regulations would begin to be valid from September 2024 a series of acts not performed by the executive led Anac to point out that the show had to be postponed.
To understand the problem, the first thing is to understand what Euro 6C is. In this case it is a international regulations which aims to reduce 56% oxide emissions nitrogen (NOX) and particles (PM), precisely two substances that are very harmful to health.
The problem is that to comply with Euro 6C, vehicles must have more advanced technology that allows them to operate in good way engines. And for this it is essential to have fuels that meet these requirements.
Thus, a schedule was established in which a better quality fuel which would drop, as a sulfur maximum, from the current 15 ppm to just 10 ppm.
Until then everything was clear. The problem arose when the availability dates of this fuel across the country.
“The fuel must be available nationwide at least 6 months before the entry into force of Euro 6C, and the rule on its availability must be published 15 months before this stage”, they underlined from the ANAC.
Thus, “in order to maintain the entry into force initially scheduled for September 30, 2025, declared high purity should be available no later than March 30, 2024 and not October 1, 2024 as indicated by the Ministry of Energy in the derogatory decree 140/2023″, they indicated in mid-July to the union which brings together the automotive brands.
Then came a series of events. The Ministry of Energy has indicated that the effective date of the Euro 6C That would be September 30, 2024.
As reported in La Tercera, the Ministry of Energy said that in October 2024 the industry will have the type of fuel needed to comply with Euro 6C regulations. The said decree, yes, had to be rectified a few days later by means of another decree, 149, which established the said term for the March 30, 2024 with which the deadline of 15 months could be respected.
All this mess, with decrees that corrected errors, led the ANAC to put itself on a war footing with the ruling party and to warn that the change of dates would even lead to a 20% increase in vehicle prices, in addition to a lack of stock. . And that would lead to accountability for used cars, those that generate the most pollution, precisely the opposite of what the Euro 6C standard seeks.
The change of government
After weeks of controversy, the question now seems settled with the publication in the Official Journal of a new decree (n°173) which returns to the previous decree.
The publication of August 14 indicates, among other things, that “what has been established by the Comptroller General of the Republic, Decree No. 149/2023 did not consume its effects given that the date of availability of low sulfur fuels established in the said law has not yet been verified, resulting in its revocation.
In addition, it was stated that the date of availability of the Gasoline for spark-ignition engines and diesel, with a maximum sulfur content of 10 ppm, on October 1, 2024.
The new order was taken the right way by the portfolio led by Diego Pardow.
“As the Department of Energy, we believe need to harmonize light vehicle emission standards and medium which are marketed in the country (decrees n° 40 and n° 41) with the update of the standard of quality specifications of the gasoline for positive ignition engines and for diesel (Supreme Decree 60/2011), which has not been updated since 2013. The technical and participatory work of updating the fuel specification standard began in 2019 and is currently in its closing phase. the new text It is already in the drafting stage. to then be submitted to an international public consultation, in accordance with the usual process for this type of instrument”, they specified from the Ministry of Energy.
On the new exemption decree, Diego Mendoza, secretary general of the ANAC, also expressed his agreement.
“The publication of the decree is good news, which goes in the direction of the progress needed to introduce more efficient emission standards in a consistent and organic way and ratifies that we will have the Euro 6C emissions standard after having the best fuel in the country which is double good news as it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while more efficient engines are being implemented across the country, ensuring a sufficient quality standard for its proper operation,” said the ‘executive.
Then fixed the new date for fuels at 10 ppm, now it remains to wait for the date on which Euro 6C will come into force which must be established by the Ministry of the Environment.
Regarding this issue, the wallet led by Maisa Rojas commented in Diario Financiero that “we are analyzing all the necessary information to set the start date of this regulation which will allow new car models entering the country have state-of-the-art technology to reduce emissions.
In this sense, Diego Mendoza specified that “it will now be necessary to determine the precise date of entry into force of Euro 6C for the year 2025 which will depend on a resolution from the Ministry of the Environment which should be out soon. As a sector, we would like this last point to happen as soon as possible to be able to give certainties to factories and parent companies in 28 different origins and thus be able to program the arrival of these products in Chile”.
The tranquility of industry
The news of the postponement of the entry into force of the Euro 6C standard was quietly caught between the marks and official representatives.
Marco Olivari, CFC after-sales manager (of the Fiat, RAM, Jeep and Alfa brands), clarified that “we think it has been a good decision to adjust the dates and postpone them. Not having the right fuel makes it impossible to implement this standard (lower sulfur from 15ppm to 10ppm). Faced with this, it was the most appropriate.
On the other hand, manufacturers who update their technologies involve high investments and rrequire adjustment periods which are medium and long term. The prices of new vehicles could have experienced significant increases, due to their higher technological level and the costs that would result in the fines that should be waived for energy efficiency, as a result of the regulatory change, are added.
Product of the above, would also be affected used car market due to the increase in demand for these vehicles, which eventually would work against the spirit that promotes the effort to increase the demands in reducing emissions, which involves improving air quality and reducing the contribution to climate change. For all of the above, we believe it is entirely correct that the government has considered the effects and will postpone the entry into force ”.
A similar vision was given to us by Paula Sepúlveda, General Manager of Automotores Gildemeister, who pointed out that “within the framework of the socio-environmental agenda of our country, we believe that it is essential as an industry continue to advance emissions standards . This work, and it could not be otherwise, has been carried out in collaboration between the industry and the authorities for several years. On this path, it is important that make steady progress and the necessary incentives exist for the adoption of these new technologies and developments . An example of this is the quality of fuels, an essential element for the operation of the new technologies required by the market and which will mark the coming years of the industry.
As importers and aware of offering Safe products with a value proposition in line with the challenges of the country, it is essential that we have clarity on deadlines and processes implementation of these new technologies, because it is this certainty that allows us to establish effective agreements with manufacturers . In this way, we will be able to introduce adequate mobility solutions for our market in a timely manner and offering opportunities for varied offer to our customers and that they can rely on long-term vehicles.
Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
