INTRODUCTION OF MODERN DIESEL TECHNOLOGY RETARDED IN CHINA
The spread of modern diesel engines using common-rail technology faces barriers in China, due to several problems. Main issue is that China's impure diesel fuel can damage parts of modern common rail engines, which are more or less mandatory for Euro 3 diesel and better. As in Europe and the USA, the sulphur content of this fuel should be lowered substantially. Besides, the government's schedule for tightening emissions rules is unclear.
The price of an engine equipped with a common rail system from Robert Bosch GmbH will increase with more than 20,000 yuan ($2,588) compared with an engine with a standard pump, says Mo Rongbo, director of the technical center of Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor Co. , a unit of Dongfeng Automobile Corporation, in a report in the Chinese press. But customers are not willing to pay this higher price, he adds, unless the system has to be installed in order to meet government regulations.
But the timing of those regulations is uncertain at this moment. Formally heavy-duty vehicles sold in China, including buses, should have met the Euro 3 emissions standards from January 1, 2008 onwards. Light-duty diesels should meet this standard since July 1, 2008.
However, there are sincere doubts as to whether the government will enforce these regulations according to this official schedule, say sources in China. According to industry experts there is a dispute between the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Environmental Protection Administration of China. The former wants to postpone the regulations, while the latter wants to stick to the schedule. The latter says that enforcement can't wait due to China's serious pollution problems. "Therefore the implementation of the standard will not be postponed," an official of the State Environmental Protection Administration told reporters.
