Publisher's Note

The Indian commercial vehicle (CV) landscape continues to grow in parallel to achieving the latest emission standards. As the inclusion of diesel particulate filters in newer vehicles is now occurring, reduced SAPS oils such as API CK-4 and ACEA E6 are starting to see an increase in demand within the market. Concern over air quality in cities has seen India tightening its emissions standards with unprecedented speed. Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) was implemented nationwide from April 2020.

Whereas Europe progressed from Euro IV emissions standards to Euro VI over a period of nine years, the Government of India has moved from its (equivalent) BS IV to BS VI standards in just three years, skipping BS V entirely.

BS VI governs ALL new On-Road vehicles in India: both heavy and light-duty diesel vehicles as well as 2-, 3- and 4-wheel light duty petrol vehicles. Off Road vehicles are subject to separate TREM and CEV legislation, which is not discussed here. All commercial vehicles (CVs) manufactured after April 2020 must meet these BS VI emissions standards, bringing India in line with global emissions standards and placing the country on a par with Europe, the US and China.

Indian CV OEMs have had to apply additional exhaust after-treatment technologies on all their new truck models in order to comply. Engine oils must therefore now be compatible with all the sensitive after-treatment systems in use.

In addition to stricter emission requirements, India has simultaneously tightened its fuel economy standards, which also helps to reduce emissions. Phase I was introduced in 2018 and Phase II in 2021, both of which apply to importers of new vehicles as well as Indian OEMs. This adds further complexity to the heavy-duty engine oil:

Keeping in mind the ever-evolving space of Diesel Engine Oil Specifications, we decided to cover this as a cover story in this issue. We do hope this would be of interest to our readers. This is in line with our promise to cover automotive lubricants frequently.

The environment being the focus area in the current times, we have included two articles – “Do’s & Don’ts of used oils” and “Lubricant Environmental Compliance”. These articles shall give our readers a new perspective on how to handle and dispose of used or waste oils in their organisations.

As usual, we welcome feedback from our readers which helps us in improving the quality and presentation of the magazine.

Wishing our readers, a very happy festival of colors-Holi.

Stay safe and healthy,

Warm regards,

Udey Dhir