HÀ NỘI — Newly manufactured assembled and imported cars are obliged to meet European exhaust emission level 4 standards (Euro 4) from January 1, 2017 in order to be eligible to register in Việt Nam.

But with just a month to go, many drivers are still not aware of this standard.

Nguyễn Văn Thắng from Hà Nội’s Hai Bà Trưng District said he has no idea what the Euro 4 standard means. A car owner, Vũ Hoàng from the capital’s Cầu Giấy District said that “In order to meet the requirement, we need appropriate fuel but we do not know exactly which kind of fuel meets the new standard.”

The Ministry of Science and Technology has been tasked with issuing a set of national technical standards on petrol, diesel fuel and bio-fuel quality to meet the Euro 4 standard, but these have yet to be published.

Automobile associations and businesses are also worried about the implementation roadmap of the new emission standard.

A representative of the Việt Nam Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) told the Kinh tế Đô thị (Economics and Urban) newspaper that the association had proposed that authorised agencies issue national standards on fuel meeting the Euro 4.

The upgrading of car engines to meet Euro 4 standard is ready but the biggest problem is fuel, he said. The use of improper fuel for the upgraded or new engines could negatively affect the operation of the vehicles and their emission.

VAMA also proposed that the Government ensure a nationwide supply of Euro 4 fuel prior to implementing the new standards.

VAMA Chairman Yoshihisa Maruta told the newspaper that the deadline for application of the Euro 4 standard should be extended if authorised agencies and ministries have yet to issue the suitable kind of fuel as well as technical and environmental criteria.

Vice Chairman of the Việt Nam Association of Mechanical Industry, Đào Phan Long, proposed that the Prime Minister consider delaying the deadline due to the unavailability of suitable fuel.

The deadline for cars with 17 seats and trucks of all kinds should be January 1, 2022, Long said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) recently met relevant management agencies, the oil and gas sector’s management authorities, and relevant business associations and enterprises to review  implementation of the decision.

Environmental experts say the new emission standard should have been applied a long time ago to help reduce exhaust pollutants that impact air quality. However, the lack of guidelines and standards on fuel have been an obstacle.

Statistics by ARIA Technologies, a French company specilising in environmental research, show that each year the number of vehicles in Hà Nội rises by 12-15 per cent. Vehicles discharge such toxic substances as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. — VNS