“Since the CAFE norms are supposed to be effective from 2027, it would be very good if the government can issue the final notification soon as that will provide clarity to work towards it,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head and Executive Vice-President Vikram Gulati told PTI in an interaction.
He noted that the regulation is important because it sets targets for lower CO2 emissions from passenger vehicles.“We believe that this regulation should be in line with the government’s other national programs, and therefore it should scientifically take into account and support the energy substitution, or substitution and low-carbon reality of ethanol and compressed biogas, etc.,” Gulati said.
The standards must also be realistic while being ambitious in setting goals, he noted. The proposed framework, known as CAFE 3, sets stricter targets for the entire fleet while providing specific relief for small gasoline cars and strong incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles.
A section of administrators, including Tata Motors, are opposing any leniency for small cars under the proposed CAFE-III norms on the basis of weight and affordability, while bigger players like Maruti Suzuki have argued that the idea behind the new norms is to allow large cars to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. “Since we don’t really operate in the small car segment, we have no opinion,” Gulati said when asked to comment on the issue.
The CAFE standards, which come into effect from 2017, set a limit on the average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a manufacturer’s entire fleet, with the aim of encouraging carmakers to improve their overall fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
CAFE 2 started in 2022 and the next phase CAFE III is likely to start from April 2027, for which new criteria are being discussed among various stakeholders, with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Energy releasing a draft regulation for feedback in September last year.
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