Parliamentary estimates that have been recently revealed have analyzed that only about 9% to 16% automobile models in India are found to be energy efficient. This revelation comes at a critical time when most automobile buyers in India are struggling to cope with the continuous rise in fuel expenses.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has recently released this consultation paper on fuel efficiency of Indian cars. The report highlights the fact that average weight of vehicles sold every year in Indian auto market is continuously showing an upward trend. Also, the quantum of cars that are plying on Indian roads has grown by 300% in just the last decade. The paper has been released for setting standards of energy efficiency for car models in India. The standards will, to a certain extent, be similar with the star-rating system for energy efficiency that is followed by the electronic goods industry. Fuel-efficiency labels in cars have already been made available in the United States market.
The consultation report released has warned that continuation of this trend would mean that by 2020, there will be an increase of more than 5.5 million cars every year and the total car availability stock in India would cross the 45 million mark. This would also increase the fuel requirement annually to greater than 25 million tons.
The criticality of the situation is further justified in the release, which states that only 32 cars out of the 330 auto models made available to the Indian market, have been able to secure five-star ratings in the fuel efficiency category. Further, only 52 auto models in India have been able to secure four-star ratings. It has been assumed by the BEE that a vehicle, which can travel 100km using only 7 liters of fuel, can be classified as a fuel-efficient car achieving five-star ratings.