Carmakers get a fresh shortcut to hit India’s fuel-economy targets

India’s auto industry is set to get a new lever for meeting fuel-efficiency rules, after the power ministry proposed crediting manufacturers for a list of fuel-saving technologies rather than requiring heavier reliance on electric vehicles.

The proposal is part of the draft Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)-III regulations, released for stakeholder consultation. It allows companies to claim compliance benefits for technologies such as regenerative braking, automatic start-stop systems and tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

The list also covers six-speed-or-higher transmissions, high-efficiency alternators, LED exterior lighting, advanced glazing, electric water pumps and solar-reflective paint – features currently limited to specific manufacturers’ higher-end models.

Each approved technology carries a benefit of 1 gram of CO2 per kilometre, or 0.0422 litres per 100 km under the Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC), and companies can stack benefits across several technologies up to a ceiling of 9 grams of CO2 per kilometre, or 0.3795 litres per 100 km.

Manufacturers have so far leaned on engine efficiency gains and a bigger share of electric and hybrid models to hit fuel-economy targets. The draft shifts that equation by letting features once sold purely as convenience or premium add-ons count toward compliance.

Because these technologies already exist in premium and mid-segment vehicles, the incentive is designed to push their rollout into mass-market cars, giving manufacturers a comparatively low-cost path to improving fleet-average efficiency. The draft additionally extends compliance incentives to renewable-fuel use, adding weight to the push for flex-fuel vehicles.

Wikimedia Commons/by Rameshng