Toyota welcomes revised CAFE norms as balanced, supporting green tech

Toyota Kirloskar Motor hailed revised CAFE norms as balanced, saying they support all green pathways including ethanol, flex-fuel, hybrids and EVs while boosting farmer incomes

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) on Friday welcomed the government’s revised draft of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms, describing it as a ‘balanced regulation’ that promotes ‘all green pathways’, including ethanol, flex-fuel, strong hybrids and electric vehicles.

 

The Japanese carmaker -- which has a significant portfolio of strong hybrid cars in India -- noted that the draft “represents a major win for India’s agrarian economy by empowering farmers to play a stronger role in strengthening the nation’s energy security and self-reliance”. 

By pushing demand for ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles though CAFE norms, the government is effectively linking the auto sector’s decarbonisation with new income streams for farmers.

   

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on Thursday revised its June 2024 draft CAFE-3 and CAFE-4 norms, introducing special relief for small cars for the first time and retaining incentives for strong hybrids. TKM is the first company to issue a reaction on the revised draft. CAFE-3 and CAFE-4 will be in effect between April 2027 and March 2037.

 

The revised draft comes after an intense and bitter debate within the automobile industry. Maruti Suzuki had requested special relief for small cars under the CAFE-3 and CAFE-4 norms, while other carmakers, including Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, opposed any such concession. 

The revised draft introduces a Carbon Neutrality Factor (CNF), giving flex-fuel ethanol vehicles and strong hybrids capable of running on flex fuel a 22.3 per cent discount on their declared carbon dioxide emissions for CAFE compliance. 

In practice, a strong hybrid running on flex fuel that emits 100 gm of carbon dioxide per km in lab tests would be counted as only 77.7 gram per km for CAFE compliance. Currently, strong hybrids sold in India by Toyota (the Hyryder, Innova Hycross, Camry) and Maruti Suzuki (Grand Vitara and Invicto) run on regular petrol and do not qualify for the 22.3 per cent CNF. To gain the full CNF, manufacturers would need to introduce flex-fuel strong hybrids, something Toyota has piloted in Brazil and showcased as a prototype in India. 

“The world is undergoing a decisive energy transition towards carbon-neutral economies, and India has been at the forefront of this transformation,” TKM said in a statement. 

“We believe it is a balanced regulation with regard to promotion of all green pathways which include bio fuels and electric vehicles. The benefit given to Flex Fuel Vehicles [FFV], Strong Hybrid Flex Fuels Electric vehicles [FFV-SHEV], Compressed Bio Gas [CBG] and Ethanol is a step in the right direction,” the company mentioned. 

Automakers have 21 days to respond to the draft. Toyota is among the first to signal support, calling the draft a framework that can “catalyse a virtuous cycle of investments, spur innovation, generate employment opportunities, and drive sustainable economic growth”.