Auto industry divided on new emission guidelines

THE UPCOMING EMISSION norms have created a rift in India's automotive industry body.

- SWARAJ BAGGONKAR

On the one hand, Maruti Suzuki is believed to be lobbying with the government for a new and separate set of norms for small cars. The rest of the pack, on the other hand, wants only one norm for the industry.

The government is aiming to bring down vehicular emissions through the third edition of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms, to be enforced from April 1, 2027. These norms are designed to improve vehicle mileage and curb carbon emission. As per the submission made with the ministry of heavy industries (MHI) in December 2024 by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), all automakers had agreed to a single emission target of 91.7 gm CO2/km for passenger vehicles under the CAFE-III norms.

This is significantly lower than the norms under CAFE-II, which mandate that the average CO2 emissions for a manufacturer's fleet of vehicles be below 113 grams per kilometre.