Chinese emission standards for new passenger cars and light-duty commercial vehicles are based on European regulations. Light-duty vehicle categories are based on the EU classification with some changes:
- Type 1 vehicles: M1 vehicles for no more than 6 passengers including driver, and GVW ≤ 2.5 ton,
- Type 2 vehicles: Other light-duty vehicles (including N1 light commercial vehicles) further divided into three classes based on the reference mass.
The implementation schedule is listed in Table 1. The nationwide dates generally refer to new type approvals—first registration of existing vehicle models is typically allowed for one more year. In some cases, conformity of production requirements were relaxed and/or delayed relative to the type approval requirements.
| Stage | Date | Region | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China 1 | 2000.01 (2000.07†) | Nationwide | Euro 1 | |
| China 2 | 2002.08 | Beijing | Euro 2 | |
| 2003.03 | Shanghai | |||
| PI: 2004.07a (2005.07†) CI: 2003.09 | Nationwide | |||
| China 3 | 2005.12 | Beijing | European OBD from 2006.12 | Euro 3 |
| 2006.10 | Guangzhou | With European OBD | ||
| 2007.01 | Shanghai | With European OBD | ||
| 2007.07 | Nationwide | EOBD: Type 1 2008.07; Type 2 2010.07 | ||
| China 4 | 2008.03 | Beijing | Euro 4 | |
| 2009.11 | Shanghai | |||
| PI: 2011.07 CI: 2013.07 | Nationwide | |||
| China 5 | 2013.02 | Beijing | Euro 5 | |
|
PI - positive ignition (gasoline, natural gas); CI - compression ignition (diesel) † production conformity a - first registration |
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New gasoline vehicles must also meet an evaporative emission limit of 2 g/test (SHED).
Durability requirements are 80,000 km for Euro 3, and 100,000 km for Euro 4.