What is the Chinese equivalent of Euro III emission standards?

[McKiara]

Euro III standards are equivalent to China's National III standards. Relevant information is as follows: 1. Euro III: Under Euro III emission standards, the limits for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter in commercial vehicle exhaust are 0.66%, 2.1%, 5%, and 0.1% respectively. 2. National III: China's National III standard represents the third phase of China's vehicle emission standards, which is equivalent to Euro III emission standards. This means the tailpipe pollutant levels match those of Euro III, with the key difference being that new vehicles must be equipped with an OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) system.

[Jerry]

My old car is Euro 3 compliant, but during the annual inspection, the staff directly tested it against China 3 standards. In fact, looking at the emission data, Euro 3 and China 3 standards are basically on the same level, both requiring around 2.3 grams of carbon monoxide per kilometer in the exhaust. However, many Chinese cities are very particular when formulating traffic restriction policies, with some even classifying Euro 3 vehicles as China 2 compliant. I heard that trading Euro 3 cars in the second-hand market has become particularly troublesome recently, with major cities like Shanghai and Beijing basically not allowing ownership transfers. Friends who want to buy such old cars really need to check local policies in advance.

[VonIsabella]

I've studied the technical documentation of Euro 3 standards and found that its core indicators basically correspond to China's National 3 standards, both representing mainstream emission requirements around 2000. However, there's a significant time gap in implementation - Europe adopted Euro 3 in 2000, while our National 3 wasn't enforced until 2007. This time difference has left early imported Euro 3 vehicles in an awkward position nowadays, especially diesel vehicles which often fail emission tests. I recommend owners check their environmental label stickers, as the National standard indicated there serves as the ultimate certification basis.

[EvanLee]

Last time when I helped a friend scrap a car, I realized that even for vehicles with the Euro III label, the treatment varies drastically between cities. In Guangzhou, they're allowed to drive into areas restricted to National II standards, but in Tianjin, they're directly treated as National I standard cars. After reviewing the transportation yearbooks, I found that imported cars before 2008 were the most chaotic, with frequent mismatches between customs records and environmental catalogs. Nowadays, inspection stations uniformly check the three-way catalytic converter for such vehicles—as long as the converter model meets National III standards, it passes inspection.