SIAM wants early notification of BS VI norms, clear road map

With the government yet to notify its decision to implement BS VI by 2020, auto industry body SIAM today demanded a "clear road map" so that automobile companies can plan investments to meet stricter emission norms.
"We just want the road map. Once we get it, we will start working on it. If the road map is compact, then that's our challenge. But the worst for us could possibly be when the road map keeps changing," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here.
The government has set the deadline of 2020 for BS VI implementation.

Mathur said: "That's a very clear road map for us. That is the kind of thing which we want, (but) first, it should be notified quickly."
Mathur also said: "It should not happen that we start working and after two years, somebody changes this road map -- either to say it is not good enough or because it can't be done, shifting forward the dates once again. You can't work on those kinds of lines."
The automobile firms are learnt to have told the government about the difficulties in jumping to BS VI norms by 2020, but "since it's been a consensus decision of four ministries, we are working on it".

The companies had earlier planned staggered investments to upgrade to BS VI, keeping in mind the earlier cut-off of 2023.

When asked if the companies could meet the deadline, he said: "It's a compact timeline. We are putting our best foot forward. There are companies who would be able to do and if there are some companies which can't manage, they will stop selling."
Mathur underlined the need to have BS VI fuel ready across India ahead of implementation of the emission norms, saying automakers will be unable to sell lower emission grade vehicles once they migrate to BS VI.

"Everything, including the supply chain, would have moved to BS VI by then. So, we would like to see BS VI fuel introduced in the country well before we introduce our BS VI-compliant vehicles," Mathur said.
On the ban of diesel SUVs and cars in the Delhi-NCR with engines above 2,000 cc, he said the industry "doesn't understand the rationale" for this ban.
"These are best-in-class vehicles available in the country. Now, we are banning the best in class and allowing the worst in class to continue," he added.
In December last year, the Supreme Court banned registration of diesel-run SUVs and cars with an engine capacity beyond 2000 cc in Delhi and the National Capital Region till March 31 as it unveiled a slew of measures to curb the alarming rise in pollution levels in the city.