Revised CAFE III unveiled for stakeholder suggestions
Centre releases a third draft of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) III norms for passenger vehicles, with revised weight-based targets, two-block compliance, and carbon-neutrality factors for biofuels.
- The Centre released a third draft of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) III norms for passenger vehicles and invited stakeholder suggestions until 6 August 2026.
- The draft proposes implementation from April 2027 and relaxes the original fleet-emission targets by about 21%.
- The proposal retains a flatter weight-adjustment curve, reduces the advantage for heavier sport utility vehicles, and makes targets easier for cars below 1,229 kg.
- Manufacturers would need to improve fleet efficiency from 3.996 litres per 100 km in 2027-28 to 3.327 litres per 100 km by 2031-32.
The Centre has released a third draft of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) III norms for passenger vehicles and opened the proposal for stakeholder consultation until 6 August 2026. The draft matters because it sets the next phase of India’s fuel-efficiency regulation from April 2027 and directly affects how the automobile industry will meet fleet-emission targets.
CAFE norms are part of India’s cleaner-mobility policy architecture. The latest draft changes the balance between environmental ambition and compliance flexibility by relaxing the original proposal, retaining a flatter weight-adjustment curve, and adding carbon-neutrality factors for some alternative fuels.
What changed in the third draft
UPSC may frame CAFE III as a transport-decarbonisation and regulatory-design issue: how far fuel-efficiency norms should tighten, how weight-based compliance affects different vehicle categories, and whether lifecycle emissions from biofuels should be reflected in tailpipe standards.
Related dispatches
