Automakers seek leeway on EVs as watchdogs push back

India debates how much leeway automakers should get under the Cafe-III emission norms

- Ayaan Kartik

Super credits allow one EV to be counted as three vehicles, one strong hybrid as two in calculating Cafe-III emissions

(HT)

India wants clean cars, but how much leeway they should get in upcoming emission norms is now the subject of a sharp split.

While global clean-transport bodies —Geneva-based International Road Federation (IRF) and the US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)—have warned that generous “super credits” weaken India’s emissions framework, the Indian auto industry lobby has urged the government to increase them.

Super credits—which allow one electric vehicle (EV) to be counted as three vehicles and one strong hybrid as two in calculating a company’s corporate average fuel efficiency (Cafe-III) emissions—were introduced to help carmakers meet targets by gradually adding cleaner vehicles.