China-Origin Urea Solution Shortage Spreads Nationwide... Is My Diesel Vehicle Okay?

Diesel Passenger Cars Also Worry About 'Yosusu'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] As the urea solution shortage spreads nationwide, concerns are growing not only among truck drivers but also among owners of diesel passenger cars.

Urea solution is an essential item used in the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) emission control devices that have been mandatory in diesel vehicles manufactured or imported in Korea since 2016. Operating a vehicle without urea solution exposes nitrogen oxides, a fine dust pollutant. Accordingly, manufacturers design vehicles so that the engine will not start if the urea solution runs out.

According to industry sources on the 5th, there are an estimated 10 million diesel vehicles in Korea. Among them, about 4 million diesel vehicles are subject to urea solution regulations, and approximately half of these, around 2 million, are passenger cars.

Urea solution is typically needed more for commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses, while passenger cars have longer refill cycles. Although it varies by model, commercial vehicles usually require urea solution refills every 1,000 to 2,000 km, whereas diesel passenger cars require refills around every 10,000 km.

Currently, commercial vehicle drivers are facing significant difficulties due to the urea solution shortage, but if the supply shortage prolongs, diesel passenger car drivers are also expected to face challenges in operating their vehicles. As it becomes difficult to obtain products domestically, some diesel vehicle owners have turned to overseas direct purchases.

According to the distribution industry, recently, the number of sellers offering urea solution through overseas direct purchase on open markets has sharply increased. Most of these overseas direct purchase products appeared after October of this year, when concerns about the urea solution shortage began to surface. One seller on an open market limited purchases to three bottles per person and informed that delivery takes about a month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.