Europe On-Road Emissions Regulations

First introduced in 1992, the European emissions regulations for on-road heavy-duty diesel engines are commonly referred to as Euro 1 though Euro 5. They apply to all new heavy duty diesel engines in trucks, buses and other heavy duty on-road vehicles. The standards are laid out in the EU Directive 1999/96/EC.

European emissions standards for HD diesel engines

To meet strict Euro 4 and 5 regulations, vehicle manufacturers are typically employing exhaust gas after-treatment technologies such as Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). The current standard, Euro 4 has been in place since October 2006, Euro 5 will be mandatory from October 2009 (type approval from October 2008).

There remains significant benefit from installing CRT^® particulate filters on the latest Euro 4 vehicles, given that the fine particulate emissions on these vehicles, specifically PM10 and PM2.5, can be higher than on Euro 3 vehicles.

The standards also define the more stringent criteria for Environmentally Enhanced Vehicles (EEV’s), noted for the contribution they could make in reducing transport related pollution in cities.

Vehicles are tested against the European Test Cycle (ETC).

In addition to these standards for new vehicles, local legislation may apply more demanding standards and also apply to existing vehicles.

London Low Emission Zone