Standards that threaten India’s mobility future

Revised CAFE norms risk pushing India backward. They need to be fixed

- Amitabh Kant

Common, Connected, Convenient, Congestion-free, Charged, Clean and Cutting-edgethese 7Cs represent the vision for the future of mobility in India, outlined by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi. All mobility initiatives in India have since evolved around this vision.

On September 25, 2025, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) released the revised draft of the next phase of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards. This comes 15 months after the first draft. For a sector that accounts for 7% of India's GDP and millions of jobs, this is not just another regulatory update: It is about the very future of India’s mobility.

Globally, the automobile industry is undergoing its biggest disruption in a century. The internal combustion engine (ICE) is giving way to electrification. China has raced ahead, Europe is catching up fast, and even the US is moving, India, the world’s third-largest automobile market, cannot afford half steps and incrementalism. EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. CAFE is one of the most powerful tools we have, but the revised draft falls severely short. The present draft will lock India in intermediate technology for the next two decades, derail its ability to technologically pole vault and delay its electrification journey. If India is serious about global leadership in clean mobility, four decisive course corrections are essential.

Put EVs at the heart, not the periphery: India is badly lagging. EVs made up just 2% of new passenger car sales in 2024-25, compared to 50% in China, over 20% in Europe, and 10% in the US. Yet the revised CAFE framework pays lip service to electrification — a retrograde step at a time when the world is racing ahead. Let's be clear: There is no pathway to efficiency without electrification. Anything else is wishful thinking.