New Delhi: Indian OEMs are a divided lot over whether small cars should be allowed more lenient emission caps versus larger cars, but in this brouhaha, several other objections raised by the industry against the proposed emission norms have barely been noticed.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) issued a revised draft for Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) 3 norms in September this year, with some changes over the previous proposal issued in 2024.
The norms come into effect in 2027-28 for a five-year period. The changes in the new draft include considering tailpipe emission of battery electric vehicles at 29 grams instead of zero, reducing the ‘super credits’ available for EVs and some other vehicle categories and a steeply reduced target of average fleet-wide emission target to 71.5 grams by 2032.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM) has opposed all three proposals. In a letter, SIAM has said its members have “mixed” views on allowing an additional 3g relaxation in carbon dioxide (CO2) emission for small cars.
But on other objections, it has not mentioned any difference of views among members. On the battery electric vehicle (BEV) emissions, SIAM has argued that their tailpipe emissions should be considered as zero since this is “in line with CAFE norms” and is “needed for India”.
But a senior government official explained that the electricity used to charge the battery of such BEVs uses at least 30 per cent non-renewable energy sources and thus, tailpipe emissions of BEVs have been assessed to be 29 grams.
“This is measuring the emissions caused during production of electricity used for charging the battery that helps operate BEVs. We will go with what the ministry of power had proposed,” this official said, requesting anonymity.
The second proposal which is in SIAM’s crosshairs is the annual compliance target set at 71.5 grams by 2032. SIAM has said this would mean “63 per cent reduction from current levels in CAFE 2, which is unprecedented globally. Such a strict threshold may result in premature scrapping of multiple vehicles, which will cause significant distress to the automotive industry, including auto component suppliers”.
It has instead suggested that the target be at 89.6 grams. The official quoted above said that carmakers do not want an annual tightening of emissions and have been keen on stricter norms becoming applicable in the last year of the five-year period. “They want to pollute for three-four years and then only get around to working towards tightening emissions…we will go with what the BEE has proposed, which is tightening emissions every year and reaching the 71.5 gram target by 2032,” he said.
On changes proposed in the revised CAFE 3 draft over super credits for electric vehicles and FCEVs, SIAM has pointed out that these are not “aligned with the government’s focus on these technologies”.
The latest proposal has reduced the super credits for BEVs from four to three in the previous draft; it has raised the credits for strong hybrids to 2.0 from 1.2 earlier and introduced a new category of vehicles called Range Extender Electric Vehicles with three super credits.
Super credits are a form of regulatory adjustment allowing an OEM to count the sale of one low-emission vehicle as multiple vehicles in fleet-average carbon dioxide emission calculation, making it easier for the OEM to meet overall emission targets.
Meanwhile, the most contested provision of the draft norms remains the one which defines a lower CO2 emission cap for cars weighing up to 909 kg of 3 grams. The proposed relaxation for small cars now has set off a rather public tussle between OEMs which have a sizable portfolio of small cars versus those whose portfolio largely comprises bigger cars.
The former group is lobbying for the lower emission cap for small cars to stay while the latter group is pushing for uniform emission standards for all vehicles, regardless of weight. A car in India weighs anywhere between 750 kg to 2500 kg, making the industry average car weight 1170 kg.
As the debate rages on, with multiple letters being written to different ministries by OEMs supporting their respective points of view, the official quoted above said that his ministry was aware that “the large car lobby is seeking permission to continue to pollute for longer…we will align our views with what the Ministry of Power finally agrees to. The final CAFE 3 regulations will likely be based on ‘real world’ emission targets and ICAT is already defining those…the final norms may tighten fleet wide emission targets by 20-25 per cent, this will not be too steep in the end”.
When asked about different OEMs lobbying for and against relaxation to small cars, he said “we cannot allow large cars to continue polluting for longer”, without elaborating further. A final decision on CAFE 3 norms is still some time away though, and would involve at least three ministries – road transport and highways, heavy industries and power.
