Abstract:

The commercial vehicle manufacturing industry boomed in China in recent decades, and this was especially pronounced in the heavy truck segments. China’s fuel consumption standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) have progressed since Stage 1 was first introduced in 2012, and Stage 4 standards are currently in development. However, to date there has been no independent retrospective assessment of the impact of Stage 1 and Stage 2 standards, including whether they spurred any reduction in the fuel consumption of HDVs. The authors analyzed at the fuel consumption of internal combustion HDVs manufactured between 2012 and 2017 and certified under Stage 1 and Stage 2 fuel consumption requirements. This research does not include battery or fuel cell electric vehicles. By analysing data from 10.5 million trucks and buses from 2012 to 2017, this study fills the knowledge gap. Based on this, Stage 4 is an opportunity to set a technology-forcing regulation that would force cost-effective new technologies into the market and improve the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers in international markets.