Vietnam should apply higher environment standards for automobile products in order to force foreign carmakers to bring better technologies to the country, experts said at a seminar on automobile technologies, transport and environment issues held in Hanoi recently.
Vietnam should upgrade gas emission standards to EURO 4, not EURO 2 from July 2007, they said.
“If we apply EURO 4 gas emission standards, international carmakers will have to bring better technologies to make vehicles in our country,” a participant said at the meeting.
“With lower gas emission standards, Vietnamese-made cars cannot be sold in Europe, Japan and in countries with EURO 4 or higher standards,” he said.
Meeting EURO 4 or higher standards is within reach of multinationals like Toyota, BMW and other foreign-invested carmakers in the country because they are also running auto plants in Europe and Japan.
Dr Quan Thang, deputy general director of Toyota Vietnam, said carmakers can produce vehicles with good gas emission minimizes. However, the efficiency of these devices depends strongly on the quality of input fuels, he added.
Pham Tien Dung, an expert working for Ford Vietnam, said Vietnam should tighten control over gas emissions, but the country should work on the quality of the fuel first.
However, the Vietnam Register, which is responsible for managing motorized vehicles in the country, still backs the EURO 2 standards as regional countries like Thailand and Singapore are applying them.
The seminar, organized by the Thanh Nien (Young People) Daily, attracted participants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Register and many carmakers in Vietnam.
Young People
Vietnamese
