New Delhi: After cars and trucks, it is the turn of two-wheelers to come under India’s fuel-efficiency regulations. According to two people aware of the development and a government document reviewed by Mint, the Centre plans to introduce corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) norms for motorcycles and scooters from April 2028.
The move would bring India's largest vehicle segment—accounting for nearly one-third of the country’s annual petrol consumption of 42.6 million tonnes—into the fuel-efficiency regime for the first time.
According to the people cited above, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)—under the Union power ministry—is holding discussions with two-wheeler manufacturers and lobby groups Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) and ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers of India) on a methodology to measure emissions across powertrains.
“Under the proposed framework, engine displacement could be linked to proportionate carbon dioxide emissions for internal combustion engine models,” one of the people cited above said. “Also, motor capacity measured in kilowatts may be mapped to equivalent CO2 values for electric two-wheelers, bringing zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles within the ambit of the energy-efficiency regulations.”
The move reflects New Delhi's twin priorities of strengthening energy security by reducing fuel consumption—India imports nearly 90% of its crude oil requirements—and advancing its long-term decarbonization agenda.
“The focus is on energy security, by improving fuel efficiency of two wheelers,” said the second person cited above.
An August 2025 Niti Aayog report had recommended the central government to enforce CAFE norms for all vehicle segments including two-wheelers. Mint first reported that the government was exploring CAFE norms for two-wheelers.
The proposal, however, is unlikely to be without challenges. The development has been met with some scepticism, as industry observers said Indian two-wheelers are already efficient and there is limited scope for further efficiency gains, and expressed doubts over the ability of two-wheelers to adapt to different fuel types at scale.
Currently, Indian two-wheelers are predominantly petrol-powered, with E20 fuel now becoming the norm. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) account for a small but rapidly growing share of the market, while CNG (compressed natural gas) remains a niche option. Flex-fuel motorcycles capable of running on high-ethanol blends are only beginning to enter the market.
In FY26, India recorded retail sales of 21.4 million units of two-wheelers, up 13.4% from a year earlier, according to Vahan data, most of which were petrol vehicles. Electric two-wheelers clocked 1.4 million registrations, up 21.8% year-on-year.
Queries emailed to the spokespersons of ministry of power, BEE, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor, Ather Energy, Ola Electric, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, Siam and ACMA on 29 June remained unanswered till press time.
Why experts are sceptical
One of the biggest changes prompted by CAFE norms is diversification of powertrains, as witnessed in the car market, where manufacturers introduced EVs, CNG vehicles, and hybrids to meet the norms.
Experts are unsure if the same playbook will be adapted by two-wheelers.
“In two wheelers, there is little room for maneuvering when it comes to powertrains. How automakers think about newer powertrains will depend on the kind of targets that will be set by the government through this exercise,” said Ashim Sharma, senior partner and business unit head at Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Consulting and Solutions, India.
Sharma added that Indian two wheelers are already very efficient, so a study has to be done on how much improvement can be brought in through CAFE norms.
“Moreover, this is a cost sensitive market, so automakers and regulators have to balance new norms,” Sharma said. “The star rating system based on fuel efficiency, which is being discussed, could be a starting point to see the potential for improvement and the consumer propensity to pay extra for an increase in fuel efficiency.”
Others think differently, saying India is already late to introducing such norms given the amount of fuel consumed annually by two wheelers,
“Two-wheelers look modest in national emissions data, but in Delhi-NCR they're already the single largest vehicular contributor to PM2.5 and PM10, at 31%,” Ravindra Patki, managing partner at Vector Consulting Group, an automobile consultancy.
According to Patki, two-wheeler norms need careful sequencing, a fuel-baseline correction for E20, and a realistic glide path so that the cost doesn’t fall hardest on the rural, cost-conscious buyer who isn't the one driving the urban pollution problem.
“Passenger vehicles have been subject to CAFE norms since 2017, yet two-wheelers, which have a far greater impact on urban air quality, remain outside the framework,” Patki said.
What is CAFE
CAFE norms create a ceiling for the average emissions of a manufacturer's entire fleet—not individual models. If a company sells 100 two-wheelers running on different powertrains, the average emissions of the entire fleet will be calculated, which needs to be lower than the cap under CAFE norms.
While fuel efficiency regulation for two-wheelers exists in countries such as Japan and China, it is different from CAFE-like regulations, which take into account fleet-wide emissions.
“There are currently no CAFE norms for two-wheelers anywhere in the world which can be reliably replicated in India. So the focus is on creating these two-wheeler norms similar to the CAFE for cars framework at the moment,” said the second person cited above.
CAFE norms were enforced for cars in India in 2017 for the first time, tightened in 2022, and are set to become more stringent in 2027. A similar framework for trucks—constant speed fuel consumption (CSFC) norms—was implemented in 2022, and is slated to be tightened in 2027. The BEE has earlier published draft proposals for both 2027 policies in 2025, but the final regulation has not been announced yet.
In the case of cars, CAFE norms bring accounting benefits for automakers that sell cleaner powertrains such as hybrids and pure EVs to lower their average emissions.
Experts estimate a rise in EV penetration once CAFE norms come into play in two-wheelers, increasing the demand for electric power while helping reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.
“As per Teri analysis, there is sufficient electricity supply to cater to the additional EV penetration of 30% by 2030,” said Sharif Qamar, associate director of transport and urban governance at think tank The Energy and Resources Institute (Teri). “With the higher share of renewable energy as per India’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) commitments under the UN Paris Agreement, the mobility sector would also benefit in reducing the overall lifecycle carbon footprint.”
Even as clean mobility makes headway into India, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cartel estimates that India, among other countries, will remain a ‘primary source’ of long-term oil demand growth.
“Future oil demand growth in road transportation comes on the back of a large expansion in the global vehicle fleet, particularly in developing countries,” the Opec said in its World Oil Outlook for 2050, published on 18 June this year, adding that conventional fuel sources such as petrol and diesel will continue to be a large part of the fuel mix even as the share of electric vehicles grows.