After the successful rollout of the BS6 Emission Norms back in 2020. The Government will soon introduce RDE (Real Driving Emissions) norms on 1st April 2023. RDE is basically the phase 2 of the already enforced BS6 Norms in India. In fact, RDE was first successfully implemented in Europe. The implementation of RDE will require all car makers to achieve emission targets in Real World Conditions. Let’s look at the effect on the Indian Auto Sector after the rollout of Real Driving Emissions.
What is RDE (Real Driving Emission)
As the name suggests, RDE stands for Real Driving Emissions. Why Real? This is because major discrepancies in the results were observed when the emissions tests were conducted in a controlled laboratory condition. India has also introduced I-RDE Norms (Indian Rea Driving Emissions).
RDE will require car makers to curb and control their vehicular emissions in real-world driving conditions, which will also be supplemented by lab-controlled MIDC or Modified Indian Test Cycle.
RDE vs Conventional Emission Norms
What makes RDE different from conventional emissions norms is that with RDE, vehicles are tested in real traffic conditions, including variations in vehicle speed, acceleration, and braking called Real-World Usage Pattern (RWUP).
Moreover, RDE measure pollutant such as NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) using a contraption known as PEMS or Portable Emissions Measurement System.
Will RDE Phase Out Diesel Cars In India?
RDE will require all Diesel Cars to come equipped with SCR or Selective Catalytic Reduction as a mandate. Now, why is this a threat to Diesel, you may ask?
After the enforcement of BS6 norms back in 2020, Diesel cars were the first to take the brunt. They had to make major (costly) changes to their systems to control their emissions per the BS6 mandate.
So much so that Maruti Suzuki, India’s number car maker, completely shelved their Diesel cars.
A thing to note is that existing larger displacement Diesel SUVs (2.0L & above) are safe here as these big Diesel powertrains have already adopted SCR. However, small-capacity and low-selling diesel cars need to be very worried.
Upgrading smaller capacity Diesel cars with SCR, as per RDE, would require car manufacturers to increase the production cost of such vehicles, which ultimately, the end user will have to bear. The very point of smaller capacity Diesel cars is to bring value for money and high efficiency to the consumer, which in this case will be null and void. Financial viability is a major point here.
Earlier, these small-capacity Diesel cars used LNT (Lean NOx Trap) to control emissions before the BS6 era.
Whenever we talk Diesel, we only imagine SUVs, and in most cases, Diesel SUVs are the breadwinner for many car makers in India. Diesel Sedans and Hatchbacks are barely selling in India under the sheer dominance of SUVs.
We have already witnessed the death of the D-segment sedan. Hence the discontinuation of Diesel Sedans and Hatchbacks will soon follow.
diesel only contributes up to 10 per cent of the i20’s sales while for Honda, diesel variants of the Amaze, City and WR-V combined make up for only 7 per cent of the company’s total sales in India. [SOURCE: AUTOCAR INDIA]
Will RDE also affect Petrol Cars?
Although not to a greater scale, RDE will defiantly have some effect on Petrol cars in India as well. Like Diesel cars, automakers will also have to upgrade their Petrol powertrains to comply with the RDE norms in April 2023.
Impact Of RDE on the Indian Automotive Sector
In conclusion, if we sum it up, here is the impact RDE will have on the Indian Automotive Sector.
- Stricter emission norms for upcoming cars
- Increased production costs of Diesel & Petrol cars
- Discontinuation of smaller capacity Diesel Sedans & Hatchbacks
- Cars will get expensive to purchase.
 coming up in India on 1st April 2023. Here is everything you need to know about the phase 2 of BS6.){kind=link}
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