Chinese telematics update announced

The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has published a draft regulation on heavy-duty vehicle telematics (remote OBD, OBD III), which will be applicable to all China VI and China V heavy-duty (HD) vehicles, according to China-based emissions regulations consultant Reggie Zhan.

In an online post he said, “I expect this regulation will be effective on 1 July, 2020.

“In China VI HD regulation, as well as the upcoming NRMM Tier 4 regulation, telematics is required for all HD vehicles, as well as machinery in the power range of 37~560 kW. For HD vehicles, real-time vehicle emissions relevant data are required to transmit to the authorities, which include three groups:

1. Engine and vehicle operating data, such as vehicle speed, geolocation data via Beidou (the Chinese version of GPS) and ambient pressure (to define altitude);
2. Engine operating conditions, such as ECT, RPM, torque/load, intake flowrate, exhaust temperature, EGR, OBD MIL status, etc.;
3. Emissions aftertreatment parameters, such as DPF delta-P, SCR inlet temperature, O2 and NOx sensor readings, DEF level, etc.

“In addition to the telematics requirements in the China VI HD regulation, this draft regulation defines three data platforms, data communication protocol between the platforms, and data security.

”The data platforms will be established at three levels: vehicle manufacturer telematics platform, local authority data platform, and the MEE data platform. Data transmission frequencies between each platform are specified.”

Detailed technical and security requirements for the microchips also defined at the vehicle level, and the on-board telematics system has the same durability requirements as the HD vehicle, or 10 years (for retrofit China V vehicles).

Zhan continued, “Minimum technical difficulty is expected to meet the telematics requirements, since massive data transmission with high-level security has been in place in China for the past few years.

”All NEVs and heavy-duty buses have been implementing remote monitoring systems nationwide as administrated by the Ministry of Transportation, as part of the vehicle safety requirements. In private applications, mobile payment is popular in China – over 75% of the transaction is handled by cell phones, instead of cash or credit cards.

”More recently, in fighting the Covid-19, everybody is assigned a QR code on the cell phone representing health conditions, so corresponding restrictions are applied. You need to scan your QR code, along with your ID check in a hotel, subway and rail stations and airport.”

Zhan added that vehicle manufacturers, drivers and the authorities are generally familiar with telematics tools.

He added, “Cost wise, the average on-board “telematics box” costs about RMB1,000 (roughly US$140), annual data communication fee is about $10 for each vehicle depending on the carrier, and the cost for setting up the manufacturer data platform, including data storage and transfer, is about $8 per vehicle.

“It should be noted that this regulation will be applicable to all China VI and V vehicles. For in-use vehicles, retrofit is mandatory to meet the requirement.”

It is expected that this regulation will make in-use emissions monitoring significantly easier. Big data analysis of the telematics data will enable the authorities to locate individuals generating high emissions, as well as manufacturers with high real-world emissions issues.

Zhan said, ”Down the road, telematics, remote sensing (roadside and overhead emissions snapshot) and annual OBD inspection, will be the primary emissions inspection tools in regulation compliance enforcement.”

This story was first published by sister magazine Diesel Progress.