[SgtRepeat]

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has proposed fuel consumption standards to be applicable for all light, medium, & heavy vehicles from April 2023.

[shankar.balan]

These standards, if passed, will probably be applicable to all new vehicles produced. And will apply mostly to private passenger vehicles Im sure.

Is there any scope for regulation on these transport vehicles and all?

The comment in the story was also a good one. The chap said that the Govt has to help ease the queues at Toll booths. And reduce govt minister’s cavalcades etc.

It cant be just one set of laws for common folks and a completely different set of laws for these elected representatives or others of that ilk.

[Turbohead]

Fuel consumption standard? Like seriously?

I can understand something like the energy consumption rating on electrical items to promote the sale of energy saving appliances but standards is a totally different ball game which will actually reduce the number of options/global products/products of global standards in our market.

Are they really saying that an engine if certain size can only confine upto so much fuel per minute/per cycle?

At this rate, I can expect laws to come stating the amount of calories I can consume per day, bed time, wake up time and other laws which restrict personal freedom.

It's so hard to believe honestly! Else it was poorly communicated to the press.

If this is true, what's really going on? After all, we are paying for our fuel right, with more than enough taxes bundled with it? Or is there a potential shortage of funds to procure oil in the future like Sri Lanka?

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Fuel consumption standard? Like seriously?

Why not? Even F1 has fuel consumption rules which if I am not mistaken say max fuel allowed per race is 100 KG. This was done to encourage engine manufacturers to optimise fuel consumption.

I think a similar goal is being envisioned in this current drive my GoI

The MoRTH in a statement said the aim of this notification is to expand the ambit of vehicles for compliance with FCS, and hence introduce more fuel efficient vehicles.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Why not? Even F1 has fuel consumption rules which if I am not mistaken say max fuel allowed per race is 100 KG. This was done to encourage engine manufacturers to optimise fuel consumption.

I think a similar goal is being envisioned in this current drive my GoI

Here's the problem:
1) There is not much gain to be made from this. Most vehicles plying on the road are fuel efficient. Majority of the consumers prefer a fuel efficient vehicle in the first place. It's a basic demand. T-BHPians are an exception rather than the norm. And manufacturers already try to make them as fuel efficient as possible. Anything more and safety goes out the window with a compromised structure or the cost of vehicles goes up with more expensive technology.
2) You lose the option to purchase a high performance variant of a vehicle, if given a choice, despite your willingness to buy highly taxed fuel.
3) Our law makers are not scientifically knowledgeable enough to propose a limit which is practical in the real world. Banning 10 year old diesels is a classic example along with pushing E20 fuel and mandatory 6 airbags in a structurally unstable vehicle.

[drift87]

Fuel consumption standards without good road infrastructure?
Having a balanced diet without food??
A photo without a camera??? Anyone???

[TusharK]

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has issued a notification proposing the implementation of Fuel Consumption Standards for all vehicles from April 2023.



The notification proposes an amendment to Rule 115 G of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules to include light, medium and heavy vehicles from several categories, including M2, M3, N2 and N3.

As per the notification, all vehicles manufactured in India or imported into the country will be have to undergo tests to check for compliance as notified under the Energy Conservation Act. Tipper trucks with a GVW of over 3.5 tonnes have been excluded from this.

At present, all vehicles under the M1 category have to comply with annual fuel consumption standards.

Link to Team-BHP News

[d.j]

Doesn’t makes any sense, producing and buying an efficient car is an inherent part of the motor vehicle eco system, so why hold it to further more bureaucracy, Why not let free market forces work? And eventually its gonna add cost to run that infrastructure which no doubt adds to burden of the individual consumer. Who gets to win ?, not us for sure!. same time it would be interesting to know and understand if any such model does exits in any country.

[Garud]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The comment in the story was also a good one. The chap said that the Govt has to help ease the queues at Toll booths. And reduce govt minister’s cavalcades etc.

It cant be just one set of laws for common folks and a completely different set of laws for these elected representatives or others of that ilk.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

At this rate, I can expect laws to come stating the amount of calories I can consume per day, bed time, wake up time and other laws which restrict personal freedom.

Originally Posted by drift87

Fuel consumption standards without good road infrastructure?
Having a balanced diet without food??
A photo without a camera??? Anyone???

I don't agree with these strawman arguments made for this proposal. Let's look at the proposal for its own merits.

I for one, like this although we hardly know the nitty gritty details of this proposal. Are they going to hard cap the consumption or are they going to make independent economy rating (come'n folks, we all know that the manufacturer economy never translates into real life economy and everyone does it their own way).

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Majority of the consumers prefer a fuel efficient vehicle in the first place. It's a basic demand

Looking at the current trend of buying SUVs, I don't think so. Indians have mostly converted from a "kitna deti hai" consumer to "status symbol" consumer.

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Our law makers are not scientifically knowledgeable enough to propose a limit which is practical in the real world.

I hardly doubt that any of our politicians think up the technicalities behind laws. Their are loads of people working behind the scenes not to mention the automobile lobby will come in with their own arguments

Originally Posted by Turbohead

Banning 10 year old diesels is a classic example along with pushing E20 fuel and mandatory 6 airbags in a structurally unstable vehicle.

Another strawman argument. But going on a tangent about the airbag rule, I believe that it will be beneficial overall. Moreso, in when Bharath NCAP gets rolled out.

[Porcupine]

This is practically impossible. For this to be even remotely possible they would need to ensure the consistency of basic things like reduction of traffic jams, better road infrastructure, etc. A basic 20km trip in Mumbai can take anywhere from 40 to 120 minuted depending on factors like traffic, road conditions, rain etc. No matter how fuel efficient you make a vehicle, your same journey can take varied amount of fuel.

[m8002?]

The government and bureaucracy are very good in coming up with these crazy rules. Of course, there is no responsibility from their end.

What is needed is the mileage rating based on a standardized test consisting of a mix of highway and city roads, potholes and traffic jams. Make that mandatory and let the markets take over.

[vinya_jag]

M1 category was already covered in this?
(8 seats or lower)

How would the Mustangs clear the rule, if it had any minimum fuel efficiency figures?
Or, do these rules not apply for imported vehicles?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by d.j

Doesn’t makes any sense, producing and buying an efficient car is an inherent part of the motor vehicle eco system, so why hold it to further more bureaucracy, Why not let free market forces work?

Well said . In a market like India which is obsessed with fuel economy, a majority of cars on sale are anyway fuel-efficient. Those that aren't fail in the market royally (only exception = luxury segment with its minuscule numbers). Maruti actually went ahead and further tuned its 1.5L NA engine for even more FE, making the top end performance suffer.

[Axe77]

Ridiculous rule and another example of the government wanting to over-regulate rather than solve anything.

If you are concerned about the consumption of fuel, incentivise your policies around strong hybrids. Let market forces determine who buys what.

Too many road accidents - lets mandate 6 airbags. Why not improve driving licensing regime instead, improve motor training schools, stricter enforcement of ALL traffic rules (not just speed cams); get better quality roads that last longer without getting potholed out, clear footpaths, create genuine walkways that don’t get encroached on. The list goes on.

But that would require the government to be accountable and responsible for something. So much easier to say:

# Mandate 6 airbags;
# Mandate fuel efficiency;
# Regulate and restrict import of high quality tyres; high quality helmets; high quality boots.

[IshaanIan]

I would be okay with this but then I honestly feel like we would all be saving a whole load more fuel if the government simply cracked down on handing out licenses willy nilly. There would be lane discipline, one would have to brake and accelerate less, bottlenecks at flyovers would be avoided by not having people try climbing onto them or going down at the last minute. Especially here in Hyderabad I am very outraged by the way authorities handle things. An arterial road; begumpet main road was recently resurfaced even though it was in perfect shape this happened in sections leaving the road with grooves making it tough for two wheelers to maintain control for a couple of months. Now they again closed off a section for some sewage work and it has again been a couple of months I am sure we would have saved way more fuel by looking into and managing these aspects rather than the vehicles themselves.