Last year in June, the Indian government proposed a plan for the introduction of Fuel Efficiency Labels on cars but the initiative could achieve what it was meant for then. Now after a year long time the news has surfaced again and this time the government has officially given its consent.
To be implemented under the Energy Conservation Act, the fuel mileage standards and labeling rules has already been sent for the car makers and will become effective from 2015. The finalization of labeling rules was supposed to happen in 2011, but unfortunately the bureau of efficiency could not do so successfully. But luckily it is set to be implemented now.
The Fuel Mileage Labels are meant for the new cars which will be launched in the near future. These new models will have labels revealing their fuel efficiency under standard road conditions along with the efficiencies of other cars from its segment, giving the buyer a clear comparison in terms of mileage.
image – ARAI Mileage of a car for illustration only
Presently, the fuel mileage of new cars is certified by ARAI. The results are not satisfactory as the testing is conducted in an environment with zero air resistance. Moreover there are no occupants and the air conditioner is also switched off which means that it is definitely not the real-world conditions where the cars are tested in.
In fact the picture is still not clear as the government mentions that the label will bear the standard Fuel Mileage Labels figures which is not known. The figures could be calling the ARAI figures as the standard ones, which means that the information will still remain invalid and there will be no actual figures on the labels.
By 2020 the government aims at achieving the fuel efficiency figures that will be at par with European standards. By 2015 it wants car makers to offer products with average fuel efficiency figure of at least 18.5 KMPL and of 20.79 KMPL by 2020. In case the car makers do not achieve the set figures by the set timeline, they will have to pay a penalty in the range of Rs. 10 – Rs. 46 lakhs. Possibly the govt. could also ask car makers to discontinue cars which fail to achieve fuel efficiency standards. This is a serious situation for car makers and within the coming 3 years, automakers will have to implement new technologies and put more efforts into research and development, failing to which could incur great losses. Lets see how the new standards will be implemented in these years or our country will see another lenient extension on the implementation of these norms. We will keep you posted on the updates regarding Fuel Mileage Labels implementation in India, do sign up for our free email newsletter for latest updates and like our official Facebook Page.
