4 days ago
New CAFE Norms Leave Large Cars Favoured
The government has created new rules to make car companies use less fuel on average.
These rules will begin on April 1, 2027, and last for five years.
The rules judge a company’s whole group of cars, not just one model.
Smaller cars usually use less fuel than larger cars.
However, the formula still gives larger cars easier targets because it considers the average weight of a company’s vehicles.
Electric vehicles receive extra credit, with one electric vehicle counted as three for the calculation.
Critics say this may make a company’s fleet look cleaner on paper than it really is.
They also say electric vehicles are not completely pollution-free because much electricity is generated using coal.
The article argues that all carmakers should meet a strict fuel-efficiency standard without the rules depending on vehicle weight.
The Centre has notified the third phase of Corporate Average Fuel Economy norms, effective April 1, 2027, for five years.
The final rules remove a proposed small-car carve-out but adjust the formula to provide some support to smaller vehicles.
Because targets still depend on fleet weight, larger vehicles face less demanding fuel-economy standards than smaller ones.
A super-credit counts each electric vehicle as three vehicles, potentially allowing automakers to produce more internal-combustion vehicles.
The article criticises concessions linked to ethanol blending and argues for a strict fuel-efficiency standard unrelated to vehicle weight.
- Who
- The Centre, passenger-vehicle manufacturers, and original equipment manufacturers are involved.
- What
- The Centre notified the third phase of Corporate Average Fuel Economy norms.
- Where
- The norms apply to the passenger-vehicle sector; the article does not specify a location.
- When
- The norms take effect on April 1, 2027, and apply for five years.
- Why
- They are intended to regulate automakers’ average fuel consumption and associated carbon emissions.
Policy Critics
Final Framework
Vehicle weight in standards
Policy Critics
Critics argue that standards should not depend on fleet weight because this gives large vehicles less demanding fuel-economy targets.
Final Framework
The final framework continues to base permissible fuel consumption partly on the average weight of an automaker’s fleet.
Electric-vehicle super-credits
Policy Critics
Critics say counting one electric vehicle as three can make a fleet appear greener on paper and permit greater internal-combustion-engine vehicle output.
Final Framework
The notified framework retains generous super-credits for electric vehicles, while reducing the earlier rewards for hybrids and flex-fuel cars.
Ethanol and emissions
Policy Critics
Critics question concessions in fuel-emission standards linked to ethanol blending, citing ethanol’s high life-cycle emissions.
Final Framework
The final rules consider the ethanol-blending mandate in fuel-emission standards, according to the article.
Key facts
- Policy
- Third phase of Corporate Average Fuel Economy norms
- Effective date
- April 1, 2027
- Duration
- Five years
- Calculation basis
- An automaker’s weighted average fleet fuel consumption
- Electric-vehicle credit
- One electric vehicle can count as three vehicles
- Small-car treatment
- The final rules remove the draft carve-out but adjust the formula to help small cars
- Main criticism
- The rules still allow heavier vehicle fleets to face less stringent fuel-economy targets
Sources
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