CAFE-3 Norms For Automakers: Centre Revises Fleet CO2 Targets, Drops 909-Kg Concession

The norms, notified by the Ministry of Power, will remain in force until March 2032. The final framework has dropped a separate concession proposed earlier for petrol cars weighing up to 909 kg.

Instead, the government has revised the formula used to calculate the fleet-wide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target for manufacturers.

Source : ABP Live

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• CAFE-3 norms begin April 2027; government revised emissions formula.
• Revised formula impacts vehicle targets, removes 909kg car concession.
• Super-credit incentives for clean vehicles, new credit-debit system.

The Centre has notified the third phase of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE-3) norms for automakers, with the new rules set to take effect from April 2027.

The norms, notified by the Ministry of Power, will remain in force until March 2032. The final framework has dropped a separate concession proposed earlier for petrol cars weighing up to 909 kg.

Instead, the government has revised the formula used to calculate the fleet-wide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions target for manufacturers.

Government Changes Formula Instead Of Retaining 909-Kg Concession

The Centre had proposed a concession of 3 grams per km for petrol cars weighing up to 909 kg last year. Several leading automakers had opposed the proposal.

In the final CAFE-3 rules, however, there is no separate concession for cars below the 909-kg weight threshold.

The government has instead changed the parameters used to calculate a manufacturer's overall fleet emissions target. The reference vehicle weight has been increased to 1,229 kg from 1,170 kg in the September 2025 draft.

The final rules also provide for a lower annual weight adjustment.

According to the revised formula, the changes provide relatively more relief to lighter vehicle fleets, while imposing stricter targets on heavier fleets.

909-Kg And 2,500-Kg Vehicles Get Different Targets

The impact of the revised formula can be seen in the emissions targets for vehicles of different weights.

For a 909-kg car, the FY28 emissions target under the final rules is about 82.8 grams of CO2 per km. Under the September 2025 draft, the corresponding target was about 76 grams per km.

For a 2,500-kg vehicle, the target under the final formula is about 142.4 grams of CO2 per km, compared with about 151.4 grams under the earlier formula.

The final framework therefore uses the revised fleet-wide calculation instead of providing a separate emissions concession for vehicles below 909 kg.

Cleaner Vehicles Continue To Receive Super Credits

The CAFE-3 rules retain the super-credit mechanism for cleaner vehicle technologies.

A battery electric vehicle (BEV) will be counted as three vehicles when calculating a manufacturer's fleet performance. Range-extended electric vehicles will also receive the same 3x factor.

Plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids running on flex-fuel will receive a 2.5x factor.

The factor for strong hybrids has been set at 1.6x, while flex-fuel vehicles will receive a 1.1x factor.

Credit-Debit Mechanism Introduced

The final rules also establish a credit-debit system based on manufacturers' performance against their emissions targets.

Automakers that perform better than their prescribed emissions targets will earn credits. Those that fall short of the targets will accumulate debits.

The CAFE-3 norms will come into effect from April 2027 and remain applicable until March 2032.

Input By : IANS