BYD, as a company with an important position in the field of new energy vehicles, has attracted much attention to the environmental performance and quality issues of its products, especially its competitors. On the day of the launch of BYD Song Pro DM-i champion version on May 25, Great Wall Motor made public its report on the substandard emission of pollutants from BYD cars.

Network screenshot

Is it true or unfair competition? The suspected illegal behavior has not been investigated and verified by relevant departments, and we are unable to comment. This article provides a brief clarification and legal analysis of relevant concepts related to environmental protection issues.

Legal Analysis of Automobile Emission of Air Pollutants

（1） Legal provisions related to automobile emissions of atmospheric pollutants

A car is a type of motor vehicle. Automobile emissions of atmospheric pollutants belong to the category of mobile pollution sources in terms of pollution source classification.

The Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law specifically proposes air pollution prevention and control measures for motor vehicles and ships. Article 51 of the law stipulates that motor vehicles and ships, as well as non road mobile machinery, shall not exceed the standard for discharging air pollutants. It is prohibited to produce, import, or sell motor vehicles, ships, and non road mobile machinery that emit air pollutants exceeding the standards. Meanwhile, Article 52 of the law stipulates that motor vehicle and non road mobile machinery production enterprises shall conduct emission inspections on newly produced motor vehicles and non road mobile machinery. Only those that pass the inspection can be sold before leaving the factory. The inspection information should be made public to society.

Article 6 of the Measures for the Administration of Ecological Environment Standards stipulates that the emission standards of air pollutants from mobile sources such as motor vehicles shall be uniformly formulated by the competent ecological environment department of the State Council.

According to the above laws and regulations, the emission of air pollutants by motor vehicles shall be within the relevant standard limits. The emission standards of air pollutants by motor vehicles shall comply with national standards, which are mandatory standards with legal effect. Newly produced motor vehicles can only be sold out of the factory after compliance with emission testing. At the same time, it can be seen that the provisions of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law on motor vehicle air pollutants are not detailed enough to classify specific pollutants.

（2） What is evaporative pollutant

After searching by the author, apart from Article 3 of the "Xi'an City Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Exhaust Pollution from Motor Vehicles and Non road Mobile Machinery" (revised in 2021), which states that "exhaust pollution from motor vehicles and non road mobile machinery referred to in this regulation refers to pollution caused by the emission and evaporation of pollutants into the atmosphere from exhaust pipes, crankshafts, and fuel and gas systems", there are few specific provisions on vehicle evaporation pollutants in China's laws, regulations, and rules, Mainly regulated in emission standards.

The "Limits and Measurement Methods for Pollutant Emissions from Light Duty Vehicles (Phase VI of China) GB18352.6-2016 partially replaces GB18352.5-2013" divides automotive pollutants into three categories:

1. Exhaust emissions refer to the gaseous pollutants and particulate matter emitted from automobile exhaust pipes.

2. Evaporative emissions refer to the loss of hydrocarbon vapors from the fuel (gasoline) system of a car, in addition to the exhaust pipe emissions, including:

(1) Breathing loss (ventilation loss) of fuel tank: The hydrocarbon emissions due to temperature changes in the fuel tank, expressed in C ₁ H2.33 equivalent.

(2) Heat soak loss: The hydrocarbon emissions from the fuel system of a stationary vehicle after a period of driving, expressed in C1H2.20 equivalent.

3. Refueling emissions during refueling refer to the hydrocarbons emitted or leaked by vehicles during refueling, expressed in C ₁ H2.33 equivalent.

It can be seen that there is a difference between evaporative pollutants and our public understanding of car exhaust (i.e. exhaust pollutants), which refers to the fuel released into the atmosphere during the driving and stationary periods of cars, mainly involving fuel tanks and fuel systems. Exhaust pollutants, evaporative pollutants, and refueling process pollutants are currently clearly defined as pollutants emitted by motor vehicles into the atmosphere under the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

（3） How to determine whether the emission of evaporative pollutants meets the standards

The currently applicable "Limits and Measurement Methods for Pollutant Emissions from Light Duty Vehicles (China Phase VI) GB18352.6-2016 partially replaces GB18352.5-2013", which regards evaporative pollutants as a type inspection content for a vehicle model. It requires that all vehicles equipped with spark ignition engines, except for single gas fuel vehicles, should undergo evaporative pollutant emission tests, and dual-fuel vehicles should only undergo this test on gasoline fuel, Hybrid electric vehicles using gasoline engines are also suitable.

This standard establishes the limits for evaporative pollutant emission testing and specifies the procedures for evaporative pollutant emission testing in Appendix F, including overview, terminology and definitions, test description, vehicles and fuels, evaporative emission testing equipment and records, test procedures, calculations Production consistency (selecting vehicles from qualified or on sale vehicles for the following tests to prove compliance with production consistency based on the compliance of the sample vehicles with requirements), etc.

Therefore, the BYD Qin PLUS DM-i and Song PLUS DM-i plug-in hybrid models belong to the vehicle models that should undergo evaporative pollutant emission tests. The evaporative pollutant emission test results of the vehicles should comply with the evaporative pollutant emission limits specified in GB18352.6-2016 instead of GB18352.5-2013. Only the evaporative pollutant results tested according to regulations can serve as the overall conclusion of the emission inspection report for newly produced motor vehicles.

If it constitutes an offense, the legal consequences it will face

According to Article 109, Paragraph 1 of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, those who violate the provisions of this Law by producing motor vehicles or non road mobile machinery that exceed the pollutant discharge standards shall be ordered to make corrections by the ecological environment regulatory department of the people's government at or above the provincial level, confiscate their illegal gains, and impose a fine of not less than twice but not more than three times the value of the goods. Motor vehicles and non road mobile machinery that cannot meet the pollutant discharge standards shall be confiscated and destroyed; Those who refuse to make corrections shall be ordered to stop production for rectification, and the competent department of motor vehicle production under the State Council shall order them to stop production of the vehicle model.

In addition, if the illegal act involves falsifying motor vehicle emission inspection results or issuing false emission inspection reports, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law stipulates corresponding legal responsibilities.

China has also implemented a motor vehicle recall system, and production enterprises should recall vehicles that emit air pollutants exceeding the standard. If it is due to design or production defects or does not meet the specified environmental protection durability requirements, it should be recalled.

How can companies respond?

At present, there is no further conclusion regarding the reported incident. As for the content involved in the above analysis, the lawyer suggests that:

1. The reported enterprise should first initiate an internal self inspection to verify whether the reported content complies with relevant legal regulations and standards.

2. The reported enterprise should pay attention to the legality and compliance of the reported materials.

3. The reported enterprise should develop a law enforcement response plan for law enforcement agencies, collect relevant evidence, conduct internal interviews, conduct on-site self inspections, etc. on suspected illegal behaviors, and deeply demonstrate whether the illegal behavior constitutes; And the hearing response during the implementation of administrative penalties.

4. Regardless of the motivation of Great Wall Motor to report, this incident can be regarded as a warning to urge automobile manufacturers to further improve environmental compliance.