Or will it be earlier still? Here is news that the European Parliament and the European Union have agreed the criteria for Euro VI, which will see targets in place that demand a NOx reduction of 80- per cent, and a 66 per cent fall in PM. Euro VI will also come into focre a year earlier than expected; new type approval will be required by 1st January 2013, and new registrations will need to be Euro VI compliant by 1st January 2014.
But we wonder. There is little obvious sign of life within the European truck market at present, and little obvious sign of a driver that might serve to restore life to the same. The German government was quick to offer very significant incentives to truck operators who chose to adopt Euro V ahead of deadline, a move that saw what amounted to a parallel launch of Euro IV and Euro V. Today, we'd reckon that vast majority of new truck sales - ahem - are Euro V compliant, and so are therefore well in advance of the October 2009 deadline.
Given that both Daimler, Volvo and PACCAR will offer EPA 10 compliant proprietary engines within North America as of January 1st next year, we wonder quite how welcome a draw-forward of Euro VI - through the same incentivization - might prove to be amongst the truck manufacturers. Germanocentric operators would have little choice but to adopt early should tax breaks along the lines of those offered during the Euro V phase in be offered. Little else seems likely to spur demand during 2009, so all eyes should now be on Berlin.