Japan races to impose limit on car emissions

Date: 04/03/1999

By Renée Cordes

EU CAR manufacturers are warning that planned new Japanese emission rules likely to be pushed through by the Tokyo government in April would discriminate against them.

Their concern has been fuelled by a meeting between Tokyo officials, the European Commission and industry experts to discuss the tough draft regime, which aims to reach similar goals through regulation as the EU's voluntary plan to cut average carbon dioxide emissions by 25%.

The system proposed by Tokyo would divide cars into various weight bands. In each band, carmakers would have to aim for the emission levels of the least-polluting vehicles.

The Europeans argue that the planned regime would discriminate against Union exports because it would require the largest reductions in the three weight categories which account for 88% of the cars sold to Japan.

They also point out that the regime, which would come into force in 2010, would penalise cars designed to be heavier for safety reasons which consume more fuel than other models at the bottom end of each weight band. In addition, car firms would be hit even if other models in their range more than met the emission targets laid down in the rules.

Commission officials and European firms are calling for more flexibility from Tokyo to ensure that manufacturers do not face penalties if they fail to live up to targets in a specific sector for "reasons that are not their fault".

But industry sources believe Japan will press ahead with its "extremely complicated formula" next month. "They have filed their plans to the World Trade Organisation under the procedures of the agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)," said one.

She added that although third parties had until next Monday (8 March) to comment on the plan, Tokyo did not appear to expect problems. "They still think they will have the rules in place in April," she said.

Volkswagen chief Ferdinand Piech, the new president of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), warned in January that the issue was beginning to worry European carmakers.

Meanwhile, the Commission is still trying to thrash out a voluntary agreement with Japanese and South Korean car companies to match that already concluded with European manufacturers.

Under the deal, ACEA agreed last summer that its members should reduce average CO2 emissions by 25% by 2008.