The Centre is working on balancing regulations under the third edition of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFÉ 3) norms to encourage customer adoption of flex fuel and electric vehicles, minister for road, transport & highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari said.
This will help rein in crude imports and vehicular emissions.
While CAFÉ norms have so far been skewed in favour of electric vehicles, the upcoming regulations will take into account the contribution of flex fuel and battery technologies in its new avatar. Flex fuel refers to blends, such as ethanol and petrol.
“The old CAFÉ norms were electric centric,” Gadkari said at an ET Roundtable on Thursday. “The new CAFÉ 3 norms will balance both electric and flexi fuel engines.”
A high-level meeting of top officials from the ministry of road transport and highways and ministry of power as well as the principal scientific adviser was held on Wednesday to firm up the norms.
The minister had called for consultations with industry stakeholders earlier this month on the matter.CAFÉ 3 regulatory norms are set to come into effect from April 2027. A car’s CO2 emissions are directly proportional to the amount of fuel it consumes. This means that some models can have higher emissions if the manufacturer has fuel-efficient vehicles in its portfolio.CAFÉ 3 regulations set fuel efficiency standards for car manufacturers with the aim of lowering fuel consumption and emissions. These norms apply to a manufacturer’s entire model range, not individual models.
While the industry is divided over the proposal on differential treatment to big and small cars under CAFÉ 3 norms, Gadkari said a final decision will align with the country’s needs.
“Despite different lobbies working on it, we have to work in the interest of the country, keeping in mind pollution, cost, import and benefits for agriculture,” he said.
Small cars don’t have a separate standard under the existing CAFÉ 2 norms that are in force through March 2027.
According to the existing rules, the average emissions of all passenger vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg — including CNG, hybrids and electric vehicles — sold by each manufacturer should not be more than 113 grams of CO2 per kilometre.
Vehicles in the local market currently run on petrol with a blend of 20% ethanol. While ethanol-blended fuel helps in reducing crude oil consumption, the lower calorific value of ethanol increases fuel consumption and therefore emissions, according to experts.
‘Prepping for Euro VII Norms’
According to Gadkari, trials are being held in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Russian technology that can raise the calorific value of ethanol to match that of petrol. This will eventually make 100% ethanol viable in the country, he said.
Responding to a query on tightening emission norms, Gadkari said there had been much resistance when India decided to jump from BS-IV to BS-VI in 2020. “India’s emission norms are comparable to the world. Now there is talk of Euro VII. We are preparing for it,” he said.
Commenting on the ban on end-of-life vehicles in the National Capital Region, Gadkari said, “This should be addressed by taking a studied legal position on the issue,” but added that converting a petrol or diesel vehicle into CNG makes economic sense.
He also said the Delhi government has the authority to make laws on the petrol-diesel vehicle ban, and take measures to address concerns regarding the legality of the move while keeping public health in mind.
Petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 aren’t allowed in the national capital region (NCR), according to the National Green Tribunal order upheld by the Supreme Court.
