India to introduce fuel economy standards
Thu 05 May 2011
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The Indian authorities are set to introduce new fuel efficiency standards with the introduction of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, giving manufacturers until 2015 to increase fuel economy to an average of 40.7mpg, up from the current average of 33.2 mpg.
The draft standard is to be set at 135 g/km of CO2 for the entire fleet by 2015. In 2010, the Indian average for new car emissions was 165 g/km.
The Hindustan Times reports that the standard is expected to encourage the uptake of fuel efficient and lighter cars and the use of alternative fuels and hybrid technologies.
Vishnu Mathur, director general of Indian Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said he hoped the new standards were practical and would promote competitivenes in the sector. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which established the norms alongside the Road Transport ministry, has indicated penalties will be imposed on those manufacturers not meeting the new regulations.
The paper states that environmental NGOs expressed disappointment at the level of the new standards and called for the imposition of the European standard of 110 g/km of CO2 emission by 2020.
The regulations include the introduction of fuel efficiency-based star labels, as used for refrigerators and washing machines sold in India. The labels will categorise vehicles according to their size.
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