Australia: Light-duty: Emissions

Australia: Light-duty: Emissions

Overview

Australian emissions standards for light-duty vehicles are regulated under the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), which are administered by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.  They are harmonized with the European Standards and differ depending on gross vehicle mass (GVM).

Standard type
Conventional pollutant emission limits

Regulating Body
Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

Current Standard
ADR79/03, equivalent to Euro 5

Applicability
New vehicles including petrol (gasoline) and diesel cars, light goods vehicles, and medium goods vehicles, as well as forward control passenger vehicles and large motor tricycles.

Contents

Categories

Australia Light-duty vehicles Emissions standards

History

The Australian Design Rules (ADRs) are national standards for vehicle safety, anti-theft, and emissions. The ADRs are based on performance and cover issues such as rider protection, structures, lighting, noise, engine exhaust emissions, braking, and a range of miscellaneous items. The current standards, the Third Edition ADRs, are administered by the Australian Government under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989.

The long-term policy is to fully harmonize Australian regulations with UN ECE standards. The regulations (ADRs) are administered by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development.

The emission standards apply to new vehicles including petrol (gasoline) and diesel cars, light goods vehicles, and medium goods vehicles, as well as to forward control passenger vehicles and larger motor tricycles. Vehicle definitions can be found here.

The evolution of vehicle emission standards in Australia occurred through a number of regulatory actions. Some of the important steps can be summarized as follows:

  • Emission standards for petrol engined light vehicles commenced in the early 1970s.
A smoke emission requirement (ADR30/00) was introduced in 1976 for vehicles with 4 or more wheels powered by a diesel engine. The alternative smoke standards were US EPA ’74 or later or British standards “Performance of Diesel Engines for Road Vehicles” BS AU 141a:1971 or ECE R 24/00, 24/01, 24/02 or 24/03 “Diesel and Pollutants” or, in the case of an engine alone, ECE R 24/03.
  • In 1995, emission standards were introduced via ADR70/00 (adopting ECE R49, US & Japanese HDV standards). The requirements of the 1995/96 standards were:
    • Required: Euro 1 for both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. Euro 2 and 3 were also accepted though not included in the regulation.
    • Acceptable alternatives: US EPA ’91 or ’94 (EPA ’98 was also accepted though not included in the regulation); 1993 Japanese exhaust emission standards for “light duty and medium duty vehicles” and 1994 Japanese exhaust emission standards for “passenger cars and heavy duty vehicles.”
  • A second round of more stringent emission standards applied from 2002/2003 model year (for new/existing models). The standards—initially equivalent to Euro 2/3—have been gradually tightened to adopt Euro 4 for light-duty cars and trucks (diesel and petrol).
  • A third round of emission regulations (ADR 79/03 and ADR 79/04), adopted in 2011, mandates Euro 5/6 emission standards for light-duty vehicles with an implementation schedule from 2013 to 2018. ADR79/05, which will implement the Euro 6 emission standards in Australia, will be formally determined by the Minister when the source standard (UN Regulation 83) is updated to incorporate the Euro 6 requirements adopted in the EU in the 2017-2018 timeframe.

Technical Standards

Emission Standards

The emission standards were introduced via a series of new ADRs, which apply to vehicles depending on their gross vehicle mass (GVM):

  • For light-duty vehicles at or below 3.5 t GVM:
    • Euro 2, 3, and 4: ADR79/00, ADR79/01, and ADR79/02 (replacing ADR37/01)
    • Euro 5 and 6: ADR79/03, ADR79/04, and ADR79/05

The requirements and the implementation schedules are summarized below.

Emission Limits for Petrol Light Vehicles (≤ 3.5 tonnes GVM)
Standard Source Standard Category Class CO THC (NMHC)8 NOx THC+NOx
(g/km)
ADR 79/00 Euro 2
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M1 – 2.2 – – 0.5
N12 I 2.2 – – 0.5
II 4.0 – – 0.6
III 5.0 – – 0.7
ADR 79/014 Euro 3
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M1 – 2.3 0.20 0.15 –
N12 I 2.3 0.20 0.15 –
II 4.17 0.25 0.18 –
III 5.22 0.29 0.21 –
ADR 79/02 Euro 4
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M – 1.0 0.10 0.08 –
N1 I 1.0 0.10 0.08 –
II 1.81 0.13 0.10 –
III 2.27 0.16 0.11 –
ADR 79/033,7 Euro 55,6
ECE R83 Rev 4 Amendment 3
Supplement 3 to the 06 series of amendments		 M – 1.0 0.10 (0.068) 0.06 –
N1 I 1.0 0.10 (0.068) 0.06 –
II 1.81 0.13 (0.09) 0.075 –
III 2.27 0.16 (0.108) 0.082 –
ADR 79/05 Euro 65,6 M – 1.0 0.10 (0.068) 0.06 –
N1 I 1.0 0.10 (0.068) 0.06 –
II 1.81 0.13 (0.09) 0.075 –
III 2.27 0.16 (0.108) 0.082 –
Notes:
1. Except Category M vehicles with GVM> 2,500 kg. For ADR79/00 (Euro 2) only, category M vehicles with more than 6 seats are also covered by the N category
2. And those Category M vehicles which are specified in note (1)
3. ADR79/03 for new models only (2013); ADR79/04 for all models (2016)
4. Optional compliance with Euro 4 standards
5. A particle number standard of 6.0 x 1011 particles/km will apply to diesel vehicles from Euro 5 onwards
6. PM mass limits also apply from Euro 5 onwards to petrol vehicles with direct injection engines. See emission limits for diesel vehicles in table below.
7. The ‘core’ Euro 5 (ADR79/03) adopts the technical requirements of ECE R83/06, except that it does not require the new, PMP-based testing methods for PM mass (allowing the old test method with the 0.005 g/km PM limit to be used as an alternative) and has no PN limit. Some other requirements are also relaxed, including the OBD threshold.
8. Separate NMHC limits only apply from Euro 5 onwards
Emission Limits for Diesel Light Vehicles (≤ 3.5 tonnes GVM)
Standard Source Standard Category Class CO NOx THC+NOx PM
(g/km)
ADR 79/00 Euro 2
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M1 – 1.0 – 0.7 0.08
N12 I 1.0 – 0.7 0.08
II 1.25 – 1.0 0.12
III 1.5 – 1.2 0.17
ADR 79/01 Euro 3
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M1 – 0.64 0.50 0.56 0.05
N12 I 0.64 0.50 0.56 0.05
II 0.80 0.65 0.72 0.07
III 0.95 0.78 0.86 0.10
ADR 79/025 Euro 4
ECE R83 Rev 4		 M – 0.50 0.25 0.30 0.025
N1 I 0.50 0.25 0.30 0.025
II 0.63 0.33 0.39 0.04
III 0.74 0.39 0.46 0.06
ADR 79/033 Euro 54
ECE R83 Rev 4 Amendment 3
Supplement 3 to the 06 series of amendments		 M – 0.50 0.18 0.23 0.0045
N1 I 0.50 0.18 0.23 0.0045
II 0.63 0.235 0.295 0.0045
III 0.74 0.28 0.35 0.0045
ADR 79/05 Euro 64 M – 0.50 0.08 0.17 0.0045
N1 I 0.50 0.08 0.17 0.0045
II 0.63 0.105 0.195 0.0045
III 0.74 0.125 0.215 0.0045
Notes:
1. Except Category M vehicles with GVM> 2,500 kg. For ADR79/00 (Euro 2) only, category M vehicles with more than 6 seats are also covered by the N category
2. And those Category M vehicles which are specified in note (1)
3. ADR79/03 for new models only (2013); ADR79/04 for all models (2016)
4. A particle number standard of 6.0 x 1011 particles/km will apply to diesel vehicles from Euro 5 onwards
5. Euro 4 was first adopted for light diesel vehicles in ADR79/01, but was effectively replaced by ADR79/02.

Other Provisions

Smoke Limits

A smoke emissions ADR 30/01 also applies to all categories of diesel vehicles. The smoke standard, which applies from 2002/2003, adopts UN ECE R24 and allows the US 94 smoke standards as an alternative. This new ADR replaces ADR 30/00.

OBD

ADR 79/03-05 introduce European OBD requirements for light-duty vehicles. At the ‘core’ Euro 5 stage (ADR79/03) a relaxed OBD threshold limit for PM mass of 80 mg/km is accepted for M and N category vehicles of reference mass above 1760 kg.

Diesel Fuel

The new emission requirements were synchronized with new diesel fuel specifications of reduced sulfur content, as follows:

  • 500 ppm sulfur effective 31 December 2002
  • 50 ppm sulfur effective 1 January 2006
  • 10 ppm sulfur effective 1 January 2009

Contact Us

Questions or updates about policies?