What will the National Emission Test Centre (NETC) in Rawang do in the EV age with zero (tailpipe) gases?

Now many know about this, and many who do might have forgotten about it, but we have a National Emission Test Centre (NETC) located in Sg Choh. Located just north of Rawang, the NETC is adjacent to Perodua’s factory and is described as the first full-fledged emissions testing facility in Malaysia.

The location is no coincidence – the RM50 million investment in NETC was borne by Perodua, but the centre is managed by the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics & IoT Institute (MARii), and is open to all vehicle manufacturers in Malaysia and ASEAN, which prior to the NETC’s opening in 2018, had no option to do emissions testing locally.

NETC’s facilities include real-time measurement of exhaust emission gases for passenger cars in accordance with UN Regulation 83 and 101, and up to Euro 6b and 6c levels. The emissions lab is equipped with an Emissions Chassis Dynamometer within a climatic chamber. The centre also features a soak room, emissions and equipment room and a control room.

However, as we move from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric vehicles (EVs), which have zero emissions at the tailpipe, will NETC be redundant? That’s a valid question as ’emissions’ is in the facility’s name, but NETC says that it has a role to play beyond emissions when it comes to EVs.

To cut to the chase – testing electric range and energy consumption (EC), the EV equivalent of fuel consumption. Aside from emissions testing, NETC’s says that its key services include measuring FC, EC and range to UNR101 standards. The centre can also conduct testing for vehicle type approval (VTA), energy efficient vehicles (EEV) and conformity of production.

At the ongoing International Electric Mobility Showcase, which is part of the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM) 2023 event at the KL Convention Centre, NETC claims that it is the most advanced facility in ASEAN for testing vehicle emissions, EC and range. The latter is important to ‘avoid false declaration by manufacturers’ and to boost ‘consumer confidence and (EV) adoption’.

“NETC serves as a meticulous testing ground, analysing energy consumption and kilometre range of EVs in diverse conditions. This data empowers manufacturers, policymakers and consumers, ensuring EVs exceed expectations, bolstering confidence and fuelling market growth,” NETC said.

“Our commitment to excellence ensures that every EV on the road meets not only environmental standards but also consumer expectations. NETC is not only recognised in Malaysia but has been recognised as a ‘global laboratory’ by United Nations and all reports can be used for international trade facilitation as one of the initiatives to remove technical barriers to trade,” it adds.

When it comes to consumer trust, we totally get NETC’s point of view (remember Dieselgate?), but all cars sold here would already have EC and range figures from their home markets or other markets where the cars are sold, such as WLTP of CLTC. NETC would probably counter with the point that Malaysia has unique conditions and driving styles.

So, the question is who do you trust more – manufacturer claims based on overseas standards or local testing?

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