Hero has become the first two-wheeler manufacturer in the country, to receive BS6 certification for a two-wheeler. The Splendor iSmart has received the Type Approval Certificate from International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), after it was successfully tested for compliance. This comes just two days before Honda was set to unveil its first BS6 two-wheeler.
While the deadline for the BS6 is still far away (April 1, 2020), it appears as if Hero has beat its former partner, Honda, to bring out the first BS6-compliant two-wheeler in the country. Hero has also taken this opportunity to say that it “has the technological prowess for meeting the BS6 norms and will now be gearing up to make its large portfolio of motorcycles and scooters BS6 compliant”.
The Splendor iSmart needed to be equipped with a closed-loop catalytic converter system, a fuel canister, an EFI unit, an ECU and lambda (O2) sensor to be able to meet the stringent emission requirements set under BS VI. While all the work has been done in-house by Hero's R&D centre CIT, in Jaipur, the company, which is the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, hasn't unveiled when it actually aims to launch the Splendor iSmart BS VI version.
Dinesh Tyagi, Director - ICAT said, “We congratulate Hero MotoCorp for becoming the country’s first two-wheeler manufacturer to get the BS6 certification. The BS6 emission standards are much more elaborate in their scope and integrate substantial changes to existing emission standards ensuring cleaner products to the consumer.”
ICAT is the premier testing and certification agency authorised by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) for giving testing and certification services to the vehicle and component manufacturers situated within India and abroad.