New Delhi: India is likely to have missed its fuel efficiency target for passengers vehicles for the financial year 2023, according to a report.

This is the first time since the start of the initiative, five years ago, that India has failed to achieve this target, Economic Times has reported, quoting sources.

"Indian makers of passengers vehicles comprising cars, vans, and utility vehicles achieved corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) – a measure of carbon emission of a vehicle – of 116.078 gm per km in the year ended March 31, 2023," the paper said.

This means that such vehicles have crossed the CO2 threshold of 113 gm per km set by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. CNBC TV18 had reported that the target applies for the industry-average kerb weight of 1145 kg for India.

In 2022 reports had said that carmakers could face penalties of up to Rs 370 crore for violating emission rules according to the upgraded Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency II or CAFE II.

The Energy Conservation law mandates carmakers to pay Rs 25,000 per unit if their fleet CO2 emissions exceed the intended CAFE score by 0-4.7 grams per kilometre, and Rs 50,000 per unit if they exceed by more than 4.7 grams per kilometre.

“It’s still work-in-progress, and we have yet to take a final call...The industry has managed to bring up the score from 130 gm/km to 115-116 now which is a great progress," an insider told ET.

Meanwhile, the report noted that the public disclosure of last year’s CAFE score has been delayed for more than two to three months. The official scores are likely to be published in the next few days.

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