Expect govt to come out with final CAFE 3 notification soon; will help industry prepare: Toyota

New Delhi, Jan 12 (PTI) The government should soon come out with the final notification for the next phase of India's Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards so that the industry can prepare accordingly, according to a senior Toyota Kirloskar Motor executive.

The government released draft rules for the latest Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards last year, which will regulate passenger vehicle fuel consumption and carbon emissions between April 2027 and March 2032.

"With the CAFE norms supposed to be effective from 2027, it will be really good if the government can issue the final notification soon, because that will give clarity to work towards it," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head and Executive Vice-President Vikram Gulati told PTI in an interaction.

He noted that the regulation is important as it sets targets for lower carbon emissions for passenger vehicles.

"We believe that this regulation has to be in sync with the other national programs of the government, and hence it must scientifically take into account and support the energy substitution, or substitution and low carbon low carbon reality of ethanol and compressed bio gas etc," Gulati said.

The norms should also be realistic while being ambitious in target setting, he noted. Known as CAFE 3, the proposed framework sets tighter fleet-wide targets while offering specific relief for small petrol cars and strong incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles.

A section of caretakers, including Tata Motors, is opposing any leniency for small cars under the proposed CAFE-III norms on the basis of weight and affordability, while bigger players like Maruti Suzuki have argued that the idea behind the new norms is to make big cars improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

"Since we do not really operate in the small cars segment, we do not have a view," Gulati said when asked to comment on the matter.

The CAFE norms, which kicked in from 2017, set a limit on average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a manufacturer's overall fleet with an aim to push carmakers to improve their overall fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

The CAFE 2 began in 2022 and the next phase CAFE III is likely to start from April 2027, for which new criteria are under discussion between various stakeholders with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the power ministry releasing draft regulation in September last year for the feedback. PTI MSS TRB