BS-VII and CAFE-III: India's Next Norms For Automobiles

The government of India is planning to cut down emissions even more strictly by bringing in the BS-VII and CAFE-III (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) norms. These new norms will help reduce the total carbon dioxide produced by vehicles in the country. Currently, 12% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in the country is from automobiles.

Bharat Stage (BS) norms have always been similar to Euro emission norms, making it easier for India-manufactured vehicles export to Europe. The European Commission plans to implement the Euro-7 norms for passenger vehicles by 2025 and commercial vehicles by 2027. Therefore, India is also buckling up to bring the newer BS-VII and CAFE-III norms around the same period as Europe's Euro-7.

Automobile manufacturers and oil-marketing companies (OMCs) will have to increase their investments to meet new norms. Unlike Europe, the government of India has not proposed a clear deadline yet. The Indian road transport ministry has already started discussing the roadmap of BS-VII and CAFE-III norms. That said, the government is looking closely at Europe's plan and implementation of its Euro-7 norms. In a Press conference last year, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India, suggested, that the Indian automotive industry should not wait for the government's announcement to start working on the new emission norms. They should rather start preparing to produce BS-VII-compliant vehicles by themselves.

The CAFE-III (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) norms are implemented on manufacturers' entire fleet sold in a country. These CAFE norms deal with the fuel consumption of vehicles. As per the current CAFE norms, manufacturers have a CO2 emission target of 130 g/km by 2022-23 and 113 g/km until the next CAFE-III norms. It, however, remains unknown, if the manufacturers have met 113 g/km, till date. But, once CAFE-III norms are officially announced, then the manufacturers will have to comply with those. 

These new norms will require at least five years to be implemented thoroughly across the country. However, the initial preparations have begun already for the early implementation.