India’s CAFE Norms for Small Cars

Prelims: Current events of National and International Importance

Why in news?

Recently, a study by Nomura (a research and consulting firm in Japan) recommended reforming India’s CAFE norms to relax emission targets for small cars.

• CAFE Norms – The Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms were introduced by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2017 to regulate fuel consumption and carbon emissions from passenger vehicles.
• It apply to vehicles that are under 3,500 kg, including petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, hybrid, and electric vehicles.
• Current targets under CAFÉ – As per the 2022-23 norms, automakers must ensure,
  • Fuel consumption – Not more than 4.78 litres per 100 km.
  • CO₂ emissions – Not more than 113 grams per km.
• These norms are designed to reduce oil imports, cut air pollution, and promote cleaner vehicles.

Nomura Study Highlights Bias Against Small Cars

• Linear weight-based approach – As the weight of a vehicle increases, the allowed CO₂ emissions target also increases, in a linear (straight-line) manner.
• The study states that India’s linear weight-based approach results in stricter CO₂ targets only for lighter vehicles.

• But in other hand heavier vehicles like SUVs get relaxed targets, even if they emit more CO₂.
• Regulatory paradox – Reducing a car's weight is a common way to cut emissions but in India, as a car gets lighter, its emission target becomes even stricter, making light weighting efforts counterproductive for small cars.
• But globally there is relaxed norms for smaller, lighter cars to encourage their use due to their environmental and socio-economic value.

Examples from Global Markets

• USA & China – Both follow a piecewise linear approach, where targets remain constant below a certain size/weight.
• South Korea – It offers constant targets and additional benefits (5–7g/km relaxation) for small car sales.
• Japan – It uses a non-linear approach, avoiding strict penalties for lightweight, small cars.

Reference

The Indian Express| India’s CAFE Norms for Small Cars