The Centre has resumed talks with the automobile industry on implementing the stricter fuel-efficiency standards for medium and heavy commercial vehicles from April 2027, according to three people aware of the development.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Union power ministry has conveyed to the stakeholders, including the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), its firm stand on compliance with the updated Constant Speed Fuel Consumption (CSFC) testing protocol from April 2027.
However, the industry continued to insist that Bharat Vecto, the indigenous testing tool it is jointly developing with the government, be widely adopted first, said an auto industry executive, one of the three people cited above, on the condition of anonymity.
The CSFC testing requirements were first enforced in 2022.
“A technical consultation was held on the CSFC norms, and once again Bharat Vecto was the key point of discussion. Manufacturers will now share some data with the government, which could pave the way for creating a baseline for the CSFC norms, and progressively tighter targets for the next five years,” said the second person on condition of anonymity.
The logjam
Bharat Vecto is still being built, and its widespread adoption may take more time, according to experts. “From planning to regulatory-grade deployment, a testing tool like VECTO could take anywhere between 5-10 years,” said Amit Bhatt, India managing director of global think tank International Council on Clean Transportation.
“This is because there is an extensive data requirement for building the core model, but the bigger time sinks are validating the model against real-world operations and tracking data across many vehicle types, expanding coverage to different categories (trucks, buses, LCVs),” he explained.
The renewed discussions assume significance as the last public draft of the CSFC norms was released more than a year ago, in July 2025, amid a similar deadlock between the government and the industry over Bharat Vecto.
Mint reported on 21 August 2025 that the industry was seeking implementation of Bharat Vecto before the CSFC norms were enforced.
Finalizing the CSFC norms before the widespread use of Bharat Vecto would amount to double regulation, according to the third person cited above. “You cannot bring in Bharat Vecto after CSFC norms are determined, because the testing process will change. First, the use of Bharat Vecto needs to be standardized, and then further norms can be made for fleetwide emissions,” said the industry executive, also on condition of anonymity.
The CSFC consultation also came after the BEE's 16 July draft notification on the third iteration of corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE 3) norms proposed easier fleet emissions targets for cars than before.
CSFC norms, like CAFE norms for cars, involve calculating the average emissions of a manufacturer's fleet in a year. The norms put a ceiling on emissions per kilometre and on the fuel or power consumed to cover a particular distance.
Mint's queries emailed to the BEE, the Union power ministry, the Union road transport and highways ministry, Siam, and truckmakers Tata Motors, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles and Montra Electric on 3 August remained unanswered.
The clean mobility goal
Improving truck fuel economy by promoting cleaner transmissions is crucial to India's aim of becoming a net-zero emitter by 2070 and reducing its dependence on crude oil imports.
Diesel trucks are among the most fuel-guzzling vehicles, and despite accounting for only about 5% of all registered vehicles in the country, they contribute nearly 33% of all transport-related carbon dioxide emissions.
The country's truck market, with annual sales of approximately 800,000-900,000 units, was valued at $20.18 billion in 2025 and is slated to reach $26.11 billion by 2030, according to market intelligence firm Mordor Intelligence.
The CSFC norms will shape truckmakers' clean mobility strategies over the next five years, even as electric trucks, despite being zero-emission vehicles, remain commercially unviable, costing at least twice as much as diesel models.
“Fuel-economy norms for both passenger and commercial vehicles are a welcome step. However, regulations deliver their intended outcomes only when they are supported by robust implementation, effective enforcement and a well-prepared ecosystem," said Vinkesh Gulati, former president of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada).
Gulati, who currently chairs the Automotive Skills Development Council (ASDC), said regulatory compliance cannot be viewed solely through the lens of vehicle technology; it also depends on preventive maintenance, periodic inspections, trained technicians and skilled drivers.