EPD to implement new qualifying standards for environment-friendly commercial vehicles from April 2021

     The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (February 19) announced that the new qualifying standards (QS) for environment-friendly commercial vehicles to be implemented for the period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, inclusive are as follows:

(a) For heavy duty commercial vehicles (with a design weight of more than 3.5 tonnes):

i. the QS for heavy duty commercial vehicles (except (a)ii) will remain unchanged as "Euro VI On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) Phase C with Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emission at least 30 per cent less than the Euro VI limit"; and
ii. for buses with a design weight of not more than 9 tonnes and light buses with a design weight of more than 3.5 tonnes, the QS will be tightened from Euro VI to "Euro VI OBD Phase C with NOx emission at least 30 per cent less than the Euro VI limit" on par with other heavy duty commercial vehicles.

(b) For light duty commercial vehicles (with a design weight of not more than 3.5 tonnes):

i. the QS for light duty commercial vehicles (except (b)ii) will remain unchanged as "Euro 6c OBD Euro 6-2 with NOx emission at least 30 per cent less than the Euro 6 limit"; and
ii. for taxis, the QS will remain unchanged as "Euro 6c OBD Euro 6-2 with NOx emission at least 80 per cent less than the Euro 6 limit".

     An EPD spokesman said, "As all first-registered buses with a design weight of not more than 9 tonnes and light buses with a design weight of more than 3.5 tonnes will be required to meet the statutory emission standards of Euro VI OBD Phase C from March 1 this year, there is a need to tighten the relevant QS for the environment-friendly vehicles such that only vehicles with outstanding emission performance outstripping the prevailing statutory requirements can enjoy the first registration tax (FRT) concessions."

     To improve roadside air quality and safeguard public health, the Government has been offering tax incentives since April 1, 2008, to encourage vehicle owners to choose environment-friendly commercial vehicles with exhaust emissions that outperform the prevailing statutory emission standards. The EPD reviews the QS of environment-friendly commercial vehicle models annually in the light of vehicle technological advancement, market availability and the prevailing statutory emission standards for the first registered vehicles.

     At present, the rates of FRT reduction for environment-friendly commercial vehicle classes range from 30 per cent to 100 per cent subject to vehicle-class-specific caps per vehicle.

     The EPD regularly updates the list of the environment-friendly commercial vehicle models as new models enter the local market. The tightened qualifying standards are available at
www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/prob_solutions/environment_friendly_commercial_vehicles.html.