AdBlue and emission legislation

Is my vehicle subject to this emission legislation?

The Euro 1-6 emission legislation applies to motorcycles, heavy-duty vehicles (buses, trucks) and passenger cars. However, not all vehicles are required to meet the same standards.
Stage I to IV legislation applies to most off-road machinery as used in construction, for farming and other applications. Whether you need to use SCR technology and AdBlue^® accordingly, depends on the emission levels of your machine or vehicle.

Legislation for transportation vehicles

EURO 6
Euro 6 will come into force in 2014. It will especially affect standards for diesel driven vehicles, requiring further reduction of NOx and Hydrocarbon emission. Consequently, the SCR system and AdBlue^® will become vital to meet the Euro 6 standards. Euro 6 legislation will immediately come into force for trucks in January.
Newly introduced passenger cars will have to meet the legislation before September 2014 and in January 2015 all newly delivered cars will have to meet Euro 6. For more info, please refer Euro 6 Article.

EURO 5 (715/2007/EC)
Euro 5 was introduced in the EU in 2009. It proposes to limit harmful emission from Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs).

EURO 4 (98/69/EC, 2002/80/EC)
Euro 4 was introduced in the EU in 2005. It proposed further limiting of petrol and diesel vehicles emissions.
In Euro 4 the emission of NOx has been limited for the first time.

EURO 3 (98/69/EC)
Euro 3 was introduced in the EU in 1999. It limited diesel car emissions. Euro 3 also included legislation for Heavy Duty Vehicles.

EURO 1 & 2 (91/441/EEC, 93/59/EEC & 94/12/EC, 96/69/EC)

Euro 1 came into force in 1993, setting emission standards for commercial vehicles and light trucks. It was the start of a step by step reduction of emissions from all engines to improve air quality in Europe. Euro 1 was soon followed by Euro 2 in 1996, which included legislation for motorcycles.

Legislation for off-road vehicles

Stage III and IV and Stage IV B
Addressing a wider range of off-road vehicles. Stage III and IV contain more elaborative and demanding standards. Stage IV will be introduced in 2014. To meet these emission standards almost all manufacturers will use AdBlue^®.

Stage IV B was introduced in 2011 leading major non-road suppliers towards implementation of SCR technology.

Stage I and II (1997-2004)
The first non-road diesel engine regulations were introduced in 1997. These stages did not yet include railroad engines, inland vessels or airplanes.