On June 21, Mexico's Ministry of the Environment and Natural
Resources published in the Official Gazette of the Federation the
Mexican Official Standard "NOM-163-SEMARNAT-ENER-SCFI-2013,
Carbon Dioxide emissions from light-weight vehicles' exhaust
pipelines and their equivalence in terms of fuel economy,
applicable to new automotive vehicles with a gross weight of up to
3,857 kilograms" (the "Standard").
The Standard is binding to trading companies of new lightweight
vehicles (those with a gross weight not exceeding 3,857 kilograms)
commercialized in Mexico (except when those companies commercialize
up to 500 units per model/year). It aims to establish the
parameters and methodologies for the calculation of both observed
and desired corporate averages regarding CO2 emissions
expressed in grams of CO2 per kilometer (g
CO2/km), and their equivalence in terms of fuel economy
expressed in kilometers per liter (km/l), based on new lightweight
vehicles from model years 2014 through 2016 that use gasoline or
diesel as fuel.
In accordance with the above, the Standard establishes compliance
values and parameters with target emissions for the period 2012 to
2016, which gradually reduce in an annual basis.
The Standard also includes specific credit schemes for
trading companies that commercialize new lightweight vehicles with
high-efficiency fuel economy technologies, as well as the creation
of a Target Goals Alternative Program that includes a 25 percent
reduction of target CO2 emissions during the
2014–2016 evaluation period for a maximum of 7,500 units.
This Program applies only to those companies that, by year 2012,
have registered annual sales ranging from 501 to 2,500
units.
Likewise, the Standard forecasts the procedure to undertake before
Mexican authorities and private certification organizations in
order to obtain a certificate of compliance with the parameters
included in the Standard.
The Standard will enter into force 60 days from its publication in
the Official Gazette of the Federation, on August 20.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.