NEW DELHI: Carmakers may soon have a new way to meet India’s fuel efficiency norms without relying solely on electrification, with the Centre proposing to reward a range of fuel-saving technologies under the draft Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)-III regulations.The draft norms, released by the power ministry for stakeholder consultation, have proposed to allow manufacturers to claim compliance benefits for deploying technologies, such as automatic start-stop systems, tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), regenerative braking, six-speed or higher transmissions, high-efficiency alternators, LED exterior lighting, advanced glazing, electric water pumps and solar-reflective paint. Some of these features are offered by specific manufacturers only.

Each approved technology will earn a benefit equivalent to 1 gram of CO2 per kilometre, or 0.0422 litre per 100 km of fuel consumption under the Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC). Manufacturers can stack these benefits across multiple technologies, although the overall cap has been set at 9 g CO2/km, equivalent to 0.3795 litre/100 km. Until now, manufacturers primarily improved compliance by making engines more efficient or increasing the share of electric and hybrid vehicles in their portfolios. Under the new framework, several features that have traditionally been marketed as convenience or premium equipment could also become regulatory compliance tools.The technologies listed in the draft are already available across several premium and mid-segment models, but the incentive is expected to encourage wider deployment across mass-market vehicles as manufacturers look for relatively low-cost ways to improve fleet-average fuel economy. The draft also strengthens the case for flex-fuel vehicles by offering compliance incentives linked to renewable fuels.