Australia: New Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule (ADR) 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement

 

Australia has published a draft new Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule (ADR) 114/00 – Carbon Dioxide Emissions Measurement.

The standard will regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions testing requirements for specified vehicles with a gross vehicle mass (GVM or maximum laden vehicle mass) between 3,500kg and 3,855kg from 1 January 2027. This proposed rulemaking will align Australia’s CO2 testing requirements with equivalent US standards for light duty vehicles, which apply to vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating up to 8,500 pounds.

This new vehicle standard is proposed as an initial step to enable vehicles with a GVM up to 4,500kg that are marketed to be driven by consumers (such as full-sized sport utility vehicles and pick-ups) to be subject to the requirements of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Act 2024 (the NVES Act). This was foreshadowed by the Australian Government in the ‘Cleaner, Cheaper to Run Cars: The Australian New Vehicle Efficiency Standard’ Impact Analysis’, which was notified in March 2024.

The NVES Act sets sales weighted average carbon dioxide emissions targets for vehicle manufacturers supplying vehicles covered by the NVES Act with a GVM rating up to 4,500kg to Australia from 2025. The NVES Act commenced on 1 January 2025, with assessment of compliance commencing for all NVES Act covered vehicles supplied from 1 July 2025.

The NVES Act uses the carbon dioxide numbers entered for each covered vehicle on the Australian Government’s Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) to determine whether a manufacturer complies with the NVES. The carbon dioxide emissions number reported on the RAV is determined in accordance with the relevant Australian Design Rule for measuring carbon dioxide emissions.

The Australian Government adopted the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Determination 2024 on 27 November 2024 to exempt vehicles that do not have a CO2 test procedure mandated by an ADR (such as vehicles with a GVM above 3,500kg) from assessment of compliance under the NVES Act, until the calendar year after a CO2 emissions test has been mandated by an ADR.

Now that an appropriate test has been identified, the Australian Government proposes that vehicles with a GVM over 3,500kg and less than 3,855kg be required to obtain a CO2 emissions test from 1 January 2027. A further rulemaking is proposed to amend the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Determination 2024 to include these vehicles in the NVES framework from 1 July 2027. Further consultation will be undertaken in 2026-2027 to determine a CO2 test procedure for specified vehicles between 3,855kg and 4,500kg, to enable their inclusion in the NVES from 2030.

The proposed standard adopts a conversion procedure to enable vehicles tested to WLTP or US test procedures to comply with the NVES Act

As the CO2 emissions targets mandated by the New Vehicle Efficiency Act 2024 (the NVES Act) are based on the test adopted in UN Regulation No. 101 (commonly known as the New European Driving Cycle or NEDC), Appendix B of the draft ADR 114/00 specifies a procedure to enable vehicles tested to the WLTP or 40 CFR 600 to calculate an equivalent carbon dioxide emissions value for reporting on the Register of Approved Vehicles (RAV) for the purposes of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. This conversion procedure was developed by the Australian Government with the assistance of the International Council on Clean Transportation in consultation with an ‘Emissions Testing Technical Working Group’ comprising representatives from vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders with an interest in the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard. A copy of the supporting analysis for this conversion procedure is attached to this notification.

If a manufacturer does not wish to use this procedure, the proposed ADR 114/00 will also allow vehicles to be tested in accordance with UN Regulation No. 101 to determine the CO2 emission number reported on the RAV to comply with the NVES Act.

To find out more about vehicle regulations in Australia, please do not hesitate to contact the Institute for Global Automotive Regulatory Research.