S. Korea To Adopt Stringent Emission Tests On Diesel Vehicles

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Aug, 2018 ) :South Korea will start strengthened emission tests of diesel vehicles next month, a move that is expected to further dampen demand for diesel cars following dozens of engine fires involving BMW vehicles, industry officials said Sunday.

Starting Sept. 1, all compact and midsize diesel vehicles will be subject to the Worldwide Harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedures (WLTP), which comprehensively inspects fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions.

Diesel cars must emit no more than 0.080g/km of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) under the new standard laboratory testing, which was introduced after Volkswagen was found to have tampered with diesel emissions data in 2015.

As the deadline looms, automakers are trying to adopt fuel-efficient technologies to reduce emissions and improve efficiency under the new standards, while some decided to halt production of diesel-power models due to tepid sales.

Industry officials say the extra equipment, such as exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), lean NOx trap (LNT) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR), could add costs, which could further drive down sales of diesel cars.

More than 40 diesel BMWs have caught fire in South Korea this year because of problems with the anti-pollution system.

On Aug. 14, the transportation ministry issued an order to suspend the operation of all BMW vehicles that have yet to receive safety inspections.