It is possible to convert a vehicle to LPG or electric to get the Eco label and 0 emissions from the DGT
Low Emission Zones (ZBE) are already a reality in Spain. No less than 149 locations and about 25 million users are affected by this measure. From January 1, 2023, the
municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants they must enter an LEZ. This measure also affects island territories and areas with more than 20,000 inhabitants if they exceed the limits for regulated pollutants.
This way it is
restrict access to the urban core of those cars that pollute the most to reduce pollution. In other words, areas where only drivers of vehicles with the 0 emission label of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) -100% electric- and drivers of vehicles with the Ecolabel -hybrids-, will have limited parking time.
But each city government has the authority to determine the restrictions in these LEZs, according to its own technical sustainability criteria and as long as they are framed within the general regulations proposed in the Climate Change Act. That is why only cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Pontevedra and Zaragoza already have their LEZ in force and issue sanctions -in Madrid, for example, 200 euros-. However, according to the National Business Association of Rental Vehicles (Aneval), about 20 of the mandatory municipalities — about 13 percent — have begun to present their measures. Among them are Cuenca, Toledo and Palma de Mallorca. Other municipalities such as Murcia, the Basque Country or Estremadura are not planning to apply ZBE in their streets for the time being.
And since the purchase of a new electric or plug-in hybrid car to ‘get around’ these restrictions currently entails very high costs for the majority of the population, a viable alternative is to ‘tune’ a car’s engine to him more ecological and one that can display the DGT 0 emission and Eco labels.
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or Autogas has become a ‘clean’ alternative to petrol and diesel. With the latter fuels it is possible to achieve the DGT Ecolabel through a simple conversion. First of all, it should be known that no vehicle can be converted to gas and display this decal. “The ministry limits this transformation to petrol models that meet the Euro 4 standard and are registered from the year 2006, and Euro 6 diesel, registered from the years 2016-2017,” said Javier Navarro, president of Astrave. , Association of vehicle transformers.
«The transformation – an LPG ‘kit’ is installed: tank, gas injectors and atomizer – must be carried out in a specialized and duly authorized workshop for this type of conversion, so that the customer can ensure that all the quality and safety standards required by a transformed vehicle when it comes to passing the ITV,” explains Navarro. Plus, they’ll be the ones to offer a two-year or 100,000-mile warranty on both labor and equipment.
Then both the workshop itself and the customer can pass the ITV for approval, requiring “three certificates: the workshop, as the transformation has been done correctly; a leak certificate, where the workshop takes responsibility and declares that the circuit is closed and has no leaks; and the one issued by a laboratory approved by the ministry,” he adds.
Therefore in the technical sheet they provide at the end of the ITV it will already be a vehicle officially powered by Autogas. This data has already been crossed with the DGT, and the Ecolabel can now be requested at any office of the organization, Post Office and agency with a price of 5 euros. The transformation has higher costs. “The price for a four-cylinder petrol model with indirect injection, including taxes and approval, is around 1,500 euros – with a maximum price of up to 2,300 euros in the case of larger engines such as 6- and 8-cylinder engines. In the case of diesel, the range is higher, between 1,900 and 2,500 euros, since the management and development of this type of engine are more difficult,” emphasizes Navarro, concluding that “in a petrol model, 20,000 kilometers have already been covered, the investment is amortized as this conversion saves up to 40% fuel”.
The transformation from a combustion vehicle to an electric vehicle, also known as ‘retrofit’, is another option to achieve the DGT 0 emission label, albeit at a much higher cost than LPG. Companies like Ecoche have been around for years, with a plan to mitigate approval costs. “It’s about building conversion requests so that quantities are diluted between each unit and the process can be tackled without excessive spending,” they explain.
Something Elektrun Cars also does, which designs, tests and approves a ‘kit’ – electric motor, battery pack and electronics – to fit into a specific vehicle that used to be an internal combustion engine. Specifically, they are currently working on 180 orders to transform classic Minis, reaching a range of 150 km. Although this whole process takes a year – due to engineering and approvals – ending in an associated workshop for installation and passage through the ITV. “The Mini has a conversion price between 14,000 and 16,000 euros, with a warranty of up to 10 years,” emphasizes AD Sánchez, founder of Elektrun Cars.
The still high price “is due to the multiple procedures and cost of the materials. Something that would improve if there was support in Spain for this type of electric. That is, for someone who buys a vehicle with these characteristics, they give up to 7,000 euros; but for someone who decides to recycle their vehicle and make it more ecological, they don’t exist,” Sánchez specifies.
In fact, the founder of Elektrun Cars indicates that the demand is very high. “We have 1,900 orders between classic vehicles, commercial vehicles such as the Seat Ibiza, last mile vans…” And all these models, after passing the ITV regulation, would receive the 0 emissions label, the one that offers the most economical and mobility benefits.
The municipalities allow the circulation of historic vehicles, that is to say with an age of at least 30 years since their manufacture or registration – also to remain in their original state, without substantially changing the technical characteristics of the main components: engine, brakes, steering and bodywork, in LEZs. Of course, circulate and park in a closed parking lot. To circulate and park on the surface, vehicles must be over 50 years old. A historic vehicle also has other advantages: exemption from the mechanical traction load -depending on the city government-, economic insurance, as well as its revaluation, “because of the scarcity and official character of a single vehicle”, says Antonio Guzmán, Approvalab regulatory advisor, official laboratory for cataloging historic vehicles.
So anyone interested in cataloging a vehicle as historic “should go to a historic vehicle cataloging laboratory authorized by the autonomous community where they live,” explains Antonio Alcocer, technical director of the laboratory in Madrid , Extremadura, Castile and Leon and Andalusia.
The steps to follow are: «obtain a technical cataloging report, submit it to the Ministry of Industry of the Autonomous Community where the cataloging is requested -pay the corresponding fees if applicable-, have it approved and request an appointment with an ITV station passes a pre-registration inspection”, details Alcocer. “Once the new technical inspection card is obtained, the documentation is presented to the DGT so that it can proceed with the registration as a VH, paying various fees,” he added.
Guzmán points out that the “catalogue confirms that it is an original vehicle, that it has not been reformed or modified that changes its original character. Or what is the same, that it is an authentic vehicle, the one that has been manufactured and that it has been kept in an acceptable state of conservation to circulate ».
Finally, the cost of the whole process will depend on the autonomous community where it is processed, as industry and ITV rates, as well as the price of the number plates, vary. “We are talking about a range between 600 and 900 euros,” they conclude from Approvalab.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
