AdBlue shortage: What does it mean for car owners?

UPDATED 17/12/2021: We’ve all heard about pressure building up on the local trucking and agricultural industries due to the global shortage of AdBlue, but there are plenty of cars in Australia that use the additive.

And the good news is, contrary to some reports, the situation facing diesel car owners is nowhere near as concerning as it might be for operators in the heavy commercial vehicle sector.

There’s only a handful of currently available makes and models of cars requiring AdBlue – most of which can be found in the luxury or light commercial segments.

AdBlue is a urea-based additive used to reduce the amount of harmful emissions (primarily nitrogen oxide) produced by diesel engines through a process called selective catalytic reduction (SCR).

Injected into the exhaust system from a specialised tank, AdBlue reacts with the untreated exhaust gasses and removes some of the harmful nitrogen oxide from the exhaust by breaking down the nitrogen oxide molecules and releasing nitrogen and water as steam.

Prices of urea have been on the rise during 2021 and peaked at an all-time high of $1265.99 per tonne last month – more than triple what it was in November last year.

Complicating things more is the fact the vast majority of Australia’s urea is imported.

As our colleagues at trucksales.com.au have reported, 1.7 million of the 1.9 million tonnes of urea consumed by Aussie farmers per annum was imported.

Combine the sky-high costs with the complicated and costly shipping arrangements inflicted by COVID-19 – the main production source being China – and you’re left with the reason for the sudden shortage.

AdBlue technology was adopted by most European brands in response to the tougher Euro 6 emissions regulations which demanded a 67 per cent drop in nitrogen oxide emissions from new diesel vehicles.

Given AdBlue is a liquid and can’t be recycled or rekindled, these vehicles need to have their tanks topped up every so often – usually coinciding with the service intervals – to ensure they don’t start spewing out excessive amounts of nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere.

We’ve reached out to every major car brand impacted in Australia – including Audi, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Skoda – to see if they are experiencing any AdBlue supply constraints within their dealer and service networks.

The overwhelming consensus is that car-makers have sufficient supply of AdBlue to keep their customers mobile well into 2022.

“We currently have no shortage of supply of AdBlue to our dealer network,” an Audi Australia spokesperson told carsales.

“Most Audi TDI vehicles that require AdBlue only require a top-up at their scheduled 15,000km services, which our dealers remain ready to carry out – as usual.”

A Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson said the brand was currently working with its suppliers to “ensure an ongoing supply of AdBlue” but that there was still more than enough available.

“Our retail network is currently able to top up impacted vehicles to keep our customers mobile,” he said.

Similarly, a Volkswagen Group Australia spokesperson said there was enough supply of AdBlue to meet the needs of owners across Volkswagen and Skoda passenger car lines and VW commercial vehicles.

"We have sufficient supply for the foreseeable future, and we are closely managing stock within our retail and authorised service network," said Mercedes-Benz Vans Australia & New Zealand spokesman Blake Vincent.

Ford vehicles that take AdBlue include the Ford Everest (both 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo and 3.2-litre), Ford Endura (2.0-litre) and Transit (2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel).

Ford Australia has advised that “supply varies from dealer to dealer, but we will work with dealers to ensure they have accurate information to communicate with customers”.

“We recommend that customers stay aware of the level of AdBlue in their vehicle and refill their tank periodically, paying attention to any dashboard warning lamps,” a spokesperson said.

“To prevent their vehicle running out of AdBlue, if customers are unable to replenish their AdBlue at a Ford dealer, we recommend they seek to obtain AdBlue from an alternative supplier.

“Customers should also note the specific storage requirements and expiry dates of any AdBlue they purchase.”

If your diesel car or light commercial vehicle requires AdBlue you have nothing to worry about – provided you have it serviced within the OEM network.

If on the other hand you have your car serviced by a third-party service centre or manually top up the AdBlue levels yourself via a service station, the situation is less certain as reports from around the country flood in claiming they’re all out.

Related: Why the AdBlue shortage?