Chile: Heavy-Duty Engines

Engine Emission Standards

Emission standards for heavy-duty truck and bus engines [2951] are listed in Table 1 and Table 2. These apply to motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight greater than or equal to 3,860 kg and that are designed to transport people or cargo on streets and roads. Early standards applied to vehicles operating in the Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM) and Region IV to X. Nationwide standards took effect in 2006.

In cases where dual standards exist, engines must meet either the EU-based or the US-based compliance option. Engines are tested on the respective EU (ESC+ETC) or US (FTP) engine dynamometer test cycles, as indicated.

Starting with heavy-duty vehicles first registered January 2012 and later and operating in the Metropolitan Region, PM emissions were limited to Euro IV/US 2007 levels while NOx limits for these vehicles remained at Euro III/US 1998 levels. In addition to OEM vehicles produced to meet the 2012 PM requirements, the limit could also be met by engines originally certified to PM emissions higher than the levels shown if they have been fitted with a diesel particulate filter carrying an approval by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) or California ARB Level 3 verification and if the engine’s certification PM emissions multiplied by (1 - filter efficiency/100) does not exceed the limits shown. It should be reinforced that this is not a retrofit requirement for vehicles first registered prior to 2012 but a compliance option for those first registered after January 2012.

Emission standards for urban buses operating in certain parts of the Santiago Metropolitan Region (Santiago Province and the municipalities of San Bernardo and Puente Alto) were more stringent than those listed in Table 1 prior to the adoption of US 2004/Euro V limits. These standards are listed in Table 2 [2950]. Urban buses first registered in September 2012 or later for use in this region must be equipped with a factory installed OEM diesel particulate filter to ensure emissions do not exceed the limits equivalent to Euro IV or US 2004 NMHC+NOx/US 2007 PM [2949].

National emission standards based on US EPA 2010 and Euro VI and applicable to compression ignition and spark ignition heavy-duty engines were proposed in 2022 [5806].

Gasoline and gas fueled trucks and buses have also an evaporative emission limit of 4 g per test.

Chassis Compliance Option

Changes to D.S. N° 55/1994 published in 2012 allowed diesel vehicles with 3860 ≤ GVW ≤ 6350 kg to alternatively certify complete vehicles according to the limits in Table 3 [2951]. (This option is equivalent to the US EPA provision that allowed an engine manufacturer to use pick-up trucks to count toward the US EPA 2007-2009 heavy-duty engine phase-in requirements.)