Is fuel efficiency back on the radar?

If fuel prices once again start hitting the headlines, chances are car and two-wheeler buyers will look at fuel efficiency as a key criteria for their next purchase

- AMBI PARAMESWARAN

“Hike in pump prices unlikely for now even as Brent tests $120 a barrel,” said the headline of a story in Business Standard on 9 March. While pump prices seem to be unaffected so far, the government increased the price of LPG cylinders by 60 as an aftermath of the crude price increase and supply chain disruptions. Obviously, pump prices may also go for a reset. The question is when.

Fuel prices used to oscillate up and down for several years. But of late they have held steady though crude prices have moved, albeit within a narrower band. Will that change now with crude prices jumping to $100 and beyond?

Indian car and motorbike buyers were fixated on fuel efficiency for decades. When Hero Honda CD 100 was launched in the mid-1980s, the original campaign presented many features of the bike: Japanese technology, great looks, four-stroke engine and unbelievable fuel efficiency. As the bikes were hitting the road the buzz was all around their incredible fuel efficiency. The firm and its then ad agency were quick to pivot to a fuel efficiency-focused campaign. The line ‘Fill It. Shut It. Forget It’ continues to resonate. I know of Hero Honda CD100 buyers saying they don’t remember when they last filled their tank. The line was a hit with customers.