BS-VI is one of the newest Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES) that would come into effect from April 1, 2020. The Supreme Court and the Government of India have mandated that all the vehicle manufacturers (including both 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers manufacturers) would sell only BS-VI enabled vehicles starting from April 24, 2020.(Earlier was 1 Apr 2020). In this article, we will discuss the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI, what changes are expected in technology and fuel, and why many are recommending buying BS-IV vehicles.
Table of Contents
Overview of BS VI and BS IV
- BS stands for Bharat Stage norms which are standards instituted by the government to regulate the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The norms were first introduced in India in 2000.
- As the stage goes up, the control of emissions become stricter. Thus Bharat Stage VI norms are two stages ahead of the present Bharat Stage IV norms in regulating emissions. India is Skipping Bharat Stage V.
- The aim of BS-VI is to reduce levels of harmful exhaust emissions, both in petrol and diesel vehicles.
- BS6 vehicles will need new fuel hence Petrol/Diesel which will be costly The sulphur content present in the BS-IV fuel is 50 ppm, while in the BS-VI fuel is just 10 ppm.
- On April 1, 2018, Delhi became the first city in our country to have fuel that is BS-VI complaint. The BS6 diesel and petrol are expected to be available across the country from 1 April 2020.
- Less Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) will be produced so less pollution
- BS6 vehicles will have new technology hence will be costly. It mandates installing filters in vehicles to cut particulate matter from the exhaust(Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) )
- BS4 vehicles purchased until 31 March 2020 will remain operational throughout registration. BS4 vehicles are not banned. But resale value will be less.
- As no BS-IV vehicles can be sold after 31 Mar 2020, rest would be scrapped, dealers are offering big discounts on BS-IV vehicles.
- BS4 are better than BS6 in mileage and performance.
- BS4 petrol vehicles are compatible with BS6 petrol due to minimal differences in terms of chemical properties. However, the diesel BS4 engine is likely to have long term implications with BS6 diesel.
- The BS6-compliant petrol cars will optimally run on BS6 fuel. BS6 petrol engines can also run safely on BS4 fuel. However, the BS6 diesel engine can only run on BS6 fuel, as the higher sulphur content in BS4 grade fuels
- It is recommended to buy BS4 norms if you are not worried about resale.
What is BS-VI? What are Bharat Stage norms?
The Bharat Stage are standards instituted by the government to regulate the emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles. With appropriate fuel and technology, they limit the release of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulate matter (PM) and sulphur oxides from vehicles using internal combustion engines. The norms were introduced in 2000 with BS I. By the year 2005, we have upgraded to BS-II, BS III in 2010, BS-IV in 2017, and now BS-VI from 2020 while skipping the BS V. As the stage goes up, the control of emissions become stricter. Thus Bharat Stage VI norms are two stages ahead of the present Bharat Stage IV norms in regulating emissions.
With India moving on to Euro VI/BS-VI standards, we will finally be at par with Europe. These norms are based on similar norms in Europe called Euro 4 and Euro 6.
As of now, no new emission standards have been set for the post-BS6 era. However, the next change in our emission laws will come in the form of the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) cycle. This will require testing new cars in real-world conditions, instead of in a controlled environment. The table below shows the Indian Emission standards. Our article Bharat Stage Emission norms, BS III Ban, BSIV and BS VI Norms discusses it in detail.
| Standard | Reference | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| India 2000 | Euro 1 | 2000 | Nationwide |
| Bharat Stage II | Euro 2 | 2001 | NCR*, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai |
| 2003-04 | NCR*, 13 Cities† | ||
| 2005-04 | Nationwide | ||
| Bharat Stage III | Euro 3 | 2005-04 | NCR*, 13 Cities† |
| 2010-04 | Nationwide | ||
| Bharat Stage IV | Euro 4 | 2010-04 | NCR*, 13 Cities† |
| 2017-04 | Nationwide | ||
| Bharat Stage V | Euro 5 | (To be skipped) | |
| Bharat Stage VI | Euro 6 | 2018-04 | Delhi |
| 2019-04 | NCR* | ||
| 2020-04 | Nationwide | ||
| * National Capital Region (Delhi)† Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Lucknow, Sholapur, Jamshedpur and Agra | |||
What’s new in the BS-VI?
The major difference between the BS-VI and the previous version BS-IV standard is the presence of sulphur content in fuel. The sulphur content present in the BS-IV fuel is 50 ppm. while in the BS-VI fuel is just 10 ppm.
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) that is produced as a result of combustion will be brought down by 70 per cent for diesel, and 25 per cent for petrol engines.
This means that the amount of pollution that would be made by the BS-VI based vehicles would be 70%-90% lesser in comparison to the BS-IV based vehicles.
- BS6 vehicle will also have advanced technology that will enable real-time tracking of emissions for the first time in India.
- Onboard Diagnostics (OBD) device, i.e. the equipment that informs the vehicle owner or the technician of the efficiency of the systems in the vehicle has now become mandatory with the introduction of BS6.
The below table offers an insight into the change in the permissible emission levels of BS6 vehicles compared to BS4 vehicles:
| Fuel Type | Pollutant Gases | BS6 (BSVI) | BS4 (BSIV) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol Passenger Vehicle | Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Limit | <60mg> | <80mg> |
| Particulate Matter (PM) Limit | <4.5mg/km | – | |
| Diesel Passenger Vehicle | Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Limit | <80mg> | <250mg> |
| Particulate Matter (PM) Limit | <4.5mg/km | <25mg> | |
| HC + NOx | 170mg/km | <300mg> |
Sulphur and other contents in BS fuels
What happened to BS-V?
Government of India in 2016 decided to move to BS-6 norm directly from BS-4 eschewing BS-5 to keep up with the global standard and to check highly menacing vehicular emissions. Opting for BS5 first, then upgrading to BS6 would have consumed good 5–6 years more and this move(skip) was much needed as we were already 10 years behind Europe. Also, it would be difficult for both car manufacturers and oil companies to change the technology twice in a short span of time. Upgrading to newer norms is a very costly process as per reports it will cost Indian refineries around 60,000 crores.
What’s next after BS6?
As of now, no new emission standards has been set for the post-BS6 era. However, the next change to our emission laws will come in the form of the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) cycle. This will require ARAI to test new cars in real-world conditions, instead of in a controlled environment.
This will require carmakers to be even more stringent with their emissions as the quantity of pollutants in exhaust gases is obviously more in the real world than in a scientifically monitored lab.
RDE could actually be the push that carmakers need to bring hybrid and pure-electric vehicles into the Indian market. This is because the new testing cycle, which is set to come into effect in 2023, will make it extremely difficult for carmakers to make their internal combustion engines comply with emission norms.
Can BS6 vehicles run on BS4 fuel?
The BS6-compliant petrol cars will optimally run on BS6 fuel. A BS6 car can run safely on BS4 fuel but it will not comply with BS6 emission norms. According to Maruti, Hyundai and Kia, BS6-compliant petrol vehicles can run on BS4 fuel without any problems to the engine.
In case of diesel cars, carmakers have conflicting opinions. For instance, Kia says the BS6-compliant diesel Seltos has been tested with BS4 fuel for 1 lakh kilometres without any problems. Their sister company Hyundai, on the other hand, has raised concerns about using BS4 fuel in a BS6 engine, saying it will eventually lead to problems. It is felt the BS6 diesel engine can only run on BS6 fuel as the higher sulphur content in BS4 grade fuels can impact the catalytic action in BS6 engine that features an enhanced combustion chamber.
Can BS4 vehicles run on BS6 fuel?
BS4 petrol vehicles are compatible with BS6 petrol due to minimal differences in terms of chemical properties. However, the diesel BS4 engine is likely to have long term implications with BS6 diesel. This can be attributed to the low sulphur content in BS6 diesel which is expected to affect the chemical lubrication process of the injectors and the BS4 diesel engine is likely to show signs of internal wear and tear in long term. The disrupted fuel flow pattern is likely to cause incorrect/incomplete combustion thereby causing an increase in the emission levels.
Does going from BS4 to BS6 affect performance and fuel efficiency?
There are various factors that affect an engine’s performance and fuel efficiency. One of them is the ease with which the engine can breathe in air and expel exhaust gases. To go from BS4 to BS6, carmakers will have to restrict its breathing, which will lead to a minor reduction in performance and fuel efficiency.
BS4 of Maruti Dzire version used to return an ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 22kmpl. However, the BS6-compliant one’s fuel efficiency has dropped to 21.21kmpl. That difference of 0.79 kmpl between the two is negligible but it is a result of the switch to BS6.
Impact of BS-VI
The automobile sector constitutes around 7% in the Indian economy. Any change in the sector will impact the GDP of the nation. Below we have listed some of the impacts that the transition of BS-IV to BS-VI will have
Increased fuel cost
As per the experts, the fuel cost is expected to increase from up to 10 Paise to 2 Rupees. This is because the fuel companies have spent around INR 30k crore in making a transition from BS-IV to BS-VI.
The BS III and BS-IV compliant vehicles were able to run on the fuel that was in circulation for the past 10-15 years. The requisite BS-IV compliant fuel that had to be 50 ppm ultra-low sulphur was not mandatory and the BS-IV vehicles could manage with BS 3 compliant fuel as well.
Many oil refineries are now equipped to produce BS-VI compliant fuel.
Increased cost of Vehicle
As the companies upgrade their manufacturing process to cater to the transition to the BS-VI model, the cost will increase due to the change in the production process. The increased cost would be reflected in increased operations cost, etc. This could result in the reduced profit margins and decreased profitability of the companies.
Going from BS4 to BS6, the prices of petrol vehicles will be hiked by Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000. The price increase in case of diesel cars will be higher, ranging from Rs 80,000 to Rs 1 lakh! When Maruti launched the BS6 versions of the petrol Swift and Ertiga and their prices were hiked by Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
Similarly, for diesel vehicles, the cost incurred by diesel vehicles is more than 1 lakh.
Inventory of BS-IV
As after March 2020, the dealers would not be able to sell the BS-IV based vehicles nor the registration of such vehicles would be allowed.
There is a buzz in the market that the losses incurred by the unsold inventories would be completely borne by the dealers and the companies manufacturing the vehicles would not take their inventories back. If this happens, the dealers would not show any interest in such a company and they may switch to some different company.
Such vehicles would then be sold on the scrap basis.
As of now, around 18k-19k inventories of trucks and buses have been unsold. The value of this inventory is ~INR 2700 crore. Similarly, there would be unsold inventories for the commercial vehicle segment that include the 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers. Such loses would be borne by the company.
It is expected that the companies that would be worse impacted by this include Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Less Demand
Customers in the automobile segment are price sensitive. As the cost of the vehicle increases during the transition from BS-IV to BS-VI, they may reduce their demand.
Which vehicle to buy? BS-IV or BS-VI
The choice of buying BS-IV or BS-VI would purely depend on the customer’s perception. However, we would like to share some of our research with which you can better evaluate which one you would like to go with:
Discount: Since BS-IV vehicles have just a month left to be registered legally, the dealers are willing to give a heavy discount on such vehicles. At this point, you can expect a discount of between 10%-20% that would vary from dealer to dealer depending on the stock they have. However, for the BS-VI vehicles, just a marginal discount would be available and you would not be able to save much on that.
Performance: As per some of the industry experts, the performance of BS-VI vehicles would be somewhat lesser in comparison to the BS-IV vehicles. The reason being that the exhaust system of the BS-VI vehicles is heavier when compared with BS-IV vehicles.
Fuel Economy: The industry experts say that the fuel economy of the BS-VI vehicles would be lesser than the fuel economy of BS-IV vehicles. Even in BS-IV vehicles, when you will add BS-VI fuel to it, its fuel economy would get lesser.
For example, let’s say a BS-IV vehicle runs 20Km a liter on BS-IV fuel. When we will add BS-VI fuel to it, it will run ~15Km. However, the BS-VI vehicles are expected to run around ~13 Km when using the BS-VI fuel.
Noise: Since the fuel pressure and fuel injection are being changed, the noise of the BS-VI vehicle may increase. The companies may integrate additional technologies to combat that, but its overall impact would be the increase in the cost of the vehicle.
Maintenance Cost: The maintenance cost of the BS-VI vehicles is expected to be more than the BS-IV vehicles.
Resale value: As per experts of the domain, the resale value of the BS-IV vehicles would be higher. This is because BS-IV vehicles have better performance, better fuel economy, better driving experience, and less noise than the BS-VI vehicles.
Should you wait for the electric vehicles?
The electric vehicles are also in the buzz these days. If you are looking forward to buying a vehicle for you than you may have been thinking about the electric vehicles. However, for electric vehicles, we would say that they still have a long way to come to India due to their unique set of problems such as charging etc.
Companies like Maruti have already told that they would not be focussing on electric vehicles. Similarly, many other brands are still planning to move with their old manufacturing model with a lesser focus on electric vehicles in the present situation.
Scrappage policy for old vehicles?
The government is expected to introduce a scrappage policy for vehicles that are more than 15 years old. As per the policy, if you have a vehicle that is 15 years older than you can simply sell that vehicle at the scrapping centers run by the government or private companies.
It is expected that if you sell your vehicle at the scrapping centers than your registration charges on the purchase of new vehicles would be waived off. If this happens, you would be able to save ~10-15% of the cost of the vehicle.
Your old vehicle will not get off-road with the scrappage policy. There would be a provision in the policy where the owners can get the fitness certificate done for their vehicles with which the registration for that vehicle would increase by another 5 years.
Video on BS4 and BS6
As the transition from BS4 to BS6 in India is underway, most customers are confused over the difference between the two. Watch this 8-minute video, as it explains the usage, difference and which variant is a better buy in the future.
Recap of BS4 to BS6
Recap of BS6 BS4 Emission norms, which one to choose
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- Cost of owning a Car
- Bharat Stage Emission norms, BS III Ban, BSIV and BS VI Norms
- Difference between Third Party and Comprehensive Insurance Policy for Cars and Bikes
- New Traffic Fines in India, Documents to carry, DigiLocker
Are you planning to buy a new vehicle? Which one are ou choosing BSIV or BSVI?
