Emissions challenge for engine manufacturers

The German construction equipment manufacturer's association, the VDMA, has said that the new EU-exhaust emission directive presents a major challenge for its members. According to the VDMA, the introduction of the EU-Exhaust Emission Regulation Stage IIIB has resulted in a great deal of investment at huge cost. For customers that has resulted in higher prices and the VDMA sees tighter regulation as being counter-productive.
February 29, 2012 Read time: 3 mins
Komatsu Europe's store of engines is ready for the new emissions regulations

The German construction equipment manufacturer's association, the VDMA, has said that the new EU-exhaust emission directive presents a major challenge for its members.

According to the 1331 VDMA, the introduction of the EU-Exhaust Emission Regulation Stage IIIB has resulted in a great deal of investment at huge cost. For customers that has resulted in higher prices and the VDMA sees tighter regulation as being counter-productive.

Various manufacturers have commented on the cost of meeting the new regulations.

Dr Günter Hähn, executive director in charge of the 364 Wirtgen Group's Technical Division said, "We have to adapt our machines. That costs a lot of money." The exhaust emission regulations have been in force in Europe and the USA since beginning of this year. Hähn estimates that approximately from one third up to half of all development capacities within the group have been taken up by meeting emissions targets and the costs are enormous.

This is not restricted to Wirtgen and the situation is the same for all manufacturers of construction machinery throughout Europe and the USA.

Thomas Weber, managing director 2394 Volvo Construction Equipment Germany said, "We have had to completely change the design of our large wheel loaders." According to Weber, the development costs are very high in this area. What Weber would like to see is a "...realistic comparison of costs and benefit and the resulting practically-orientated solutions".

The relation must be right, he said. Weber pointed out that of the products which are also supplied by Volvo, each year a total of only around 30,000 new vehicles come on to the German market. Compared to the registrations of new cars and vans, this represents an extremely small figure. He also said that the total pollution level accounted for by construction machinery was correspondingly low.

Producers that sell their products not only in Europe and the USA, but also in other countries, are especially hard-hit by the new exhaust emissions regulations. Because the provisions do not apply in those countries, there is no low-sulphur diesel fuel to power these machines, and of course as no one is prepared to pay the higher prices, they must now build two variations of the same machines at their plants, one for the European and US market and the other for the rest of the world.
Engines, Components & Tyres

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • German construction equipment industry’s sales rise 8 per cent
    February 18, 2015
    German manufacturers of construction equipment reported an 8% rise in sales, amounting to €8.4 billion. The level was higher than expected and equal to sales in 2006, according to the Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery Association (VDMA). However, the VDMA, part of the German Engineering Federation, suggested that company profits may not have risen along with sales and tough times remain ahead. “Turnover is one thing, profit is another,” Joachim Strobel, deputy chairman of VDMA, said.
    Read More
  • VDMA says machine sales now exceed previous year
    September 1, 2017
    The market for earthmoving equipment is booming, according to a report by the German construction machine manufacturers association, the VDMA. In the first six months of this year, the turnover of construction equipment manufacturers was around 19% higher than the already high value of the previous year. In addition, there is an increase in orders of over 18%, as construction equipment is ordered all over the world.
    Read More
  • India's first construction event a huge success
    April 5, 2012
    The first bC India event has exceeded all expectations and it is set to become a regular event. Patrick Smith reports A major new construction equipment show has been launched in a nation with a huge appetite for such machinery and a growth rate nudging 9% each year. With billions being spent on infrastructure (roads and highways, power stations, railways, ports and airports), India was a prime candidate for a trade fair to display the latest and local international construction machinery, building materia
    Read More
  • CECE Summit – is Europe ready for a digital construction worksite?
    November 20, 2015
    The CECE has voiced his concern over government regulations that could strangle innovation for the digitalisation of construction machinery. China’s imploding economy was another topic at the recent conference in Brussels, reports David Arminas. The CECE has urged the European Parliament and European Commission to enact legislation that promotes rather than hinders the construction sector’s transition to a digitalised way of working. “We need a smart regulatory framework that helps to unlock the full poten
    Read More

Highlighted Content