Weight-based CAFE relief to hurt safer car push: Shailesh Chandra

Some automakers are seeking to create an “arbitrary” weight-based category of small cars to get relief under the upcoming norms on corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFÉ), but such a criterion will conflict with the auto industry’s progress and the government’s policies that incentivise the production of safer vehicles, said Shailesh Chandra, managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, on Friday. 

This is the first time that Chandra has spoken against the demand for weight-based exemption for small cars, which has divided the auto industry since the beginning of this year. 

The CAFE framework sets fleet-wide emission targets on carbon dioxide for automakers in gm/km, with penalties for non-compliance from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). 

Earlier this year, Maruti Suzuki sought a weight-based exemption for small cars. On September 25, the BEE released the draft CAFE-3 and CAFE-4 norms, which, for the first time, introduced weight-based exemption. 

According to this draft, petrol cars of less than 909 kg, with an engine below 1,200 cc, and having a length of less than 4 metres will get a fuel-emission relaxation of an additional 3 gm/km. 

Last weekend, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) submitted its final comments on the draft, noting that its members could not reach a consensus on the proposed weight-based exemption. CAFE-3 and CAFE-4 norms will take effect in April 2027 and stay in force for 10 years. 

During a press conference on Friday, Chandra said: “There has been an effort to define a category of small passenger vehicles based on weight, which is arbitrary. We do not support this. Such a criterion would conflict with one of the core objectives of the policy and undermine the significant progress the industry has made in improving safety standards and protection.” 

Weight is linked to safety because many of the features that make cars safer — such as stronger body structures, side-impact beams, larger crumple zones, and additional airbags — add weight to a vehicle. As a result, cars that meet higher safety standards naturally tend to weigh more. 

He mentioned that the upcoming CAFE regulation should also not be in dissonance with evolving consumer preferences. “At some stage you have to align with it. And market trends indicate that, in the sub-4 metre space, consumers are shifting towards compact sport utility vehicles. This shift reflects evolving customer aspirations and their clear preference for safer, feature-rich vehicles at nearly the same price,” added Chandra, who is also president of Siam. 

He noted although some argued lighter cars were naturally more affordable, in practice there were models close to the proposed 909-kg threshold that already sold for around ₹10 lakh. With small reductions in weight, these vehicles could be made to fit within the limit. That, he said, would effectively allow higher-priced cars to qualify for concession. 

“So all in all, diluting emission norms based on weight criteria compromises vehicle safety and detracts from concrete action on sustainable mobility. Therefore, we believe the focus of the conversation needs to be on encouraging the movement towards sustainable technologies, including electric vehicles and flex-fuel vehicles, rather than giving much attention to this topic of the small-car definition,” he mentioned.

 

He said the first intent of CAFE norms had been to drive automakers towards greener technologies at a fleet or portfolio level. “There are no specific targets set for either individual cars or car segments. So original equipment manufacturers are free to manage their portfolio with green technologies,” he stated.

 

“Second, the small-car classification was recently reaffirmed under revised rates of goods and services tax, based on length and engine capacity. By this definition, we (Tata Motors) are the second-largest producer of small cars in the country, with over 85 per cent of our sales in this category. We have no concern in meeting CAFE norms, even with such a high share of small cars. And we see no justification for any special concession for this specific category of cars -- or any category of cars, whether small or big.”