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Govt Proposes Strict Mileage Standards By 2015
All new cars sold should carry the fuel efficiency label. This label will carry the car's mileage under standard conditions and also informs buyers where its stands in terms of mileage when compared with other cars. These labels are set to become mandatory in a few months time while the mileage standards will become effective from 2015.
The improved mileage in cars will come with higher prices. But the government believes, car buyers can recoup the cost withing 2-3 years if there is a marked improvement in mileage.
This gives carmakers some time to improve the fuel economy of their cars by improving the technology. The proposed mile age standard for 2020 has been fixed at 18.15kmpl while the average mileage of the top ten car manufacturers now is about 16.42kmpl. The government is planning to increase the target further up to 20.79kmpl.
Not many carmakers currently have the stipulated mileage. A government report has stated that major carmakers such as Daimler AG, Mahindra & Mahindra, BMW, Nissan, Audi, Toyota, Hindustan Motors and Volkswagen need to improve a lot to meet the new standards. Even market leader Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motors also have to improve their cars' mileage.
The central government has proposed fines starting from Rs.10 lakhs on carmakers for violating the norms. If cars do not deliver the mileage as proposed in the label, they will attract a fine and will need to be taken off the market.
The carmakers will have to sell more and more fuel efficient cars to meet the corporate fleet average standard. However carmakers have opposed this measure. They claim bad road conditions, bad fuel quality and other factors will bring down a car's mileage. SIAM, the umbrella body of carmakers has sought a dilution in these norms.
The governmental has stated that better quality Bharath IV fuel will be sold all over the country soon. It has added that carmakers themselves were showing an improvement in mileage of about 2.8% per year and what it has sought from carmakers is not too much.
While small car manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai will need to improve their cars' mileage marginally to meet new standards by 2015, t is the manufacturers of SUVs, sports and Luxury cars that will struggle the most.
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