Fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles

Country / jurisdiction: India · Year: 2018 · Status: In force · Level: National · Type: Voluntary

India has adopted fuel-efficiency standards for conventional heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) over 3.5t.

The standards aim at reducing fuel consumption and GHG emissions from diesel-powered freight trucks and buses and apply to both, domestic manufacturers and importers. Regulations are set up as per-vehicle standards, under which every vehicle model is tested for compliance before a manufacturing approval certification.

In 2021, India's trucks and buses accounted for half of the road transport sector's final energy demand; the largest part of the fleet relies on diesel powertrains.

India's Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) published fuel-efficiency standards for HVDs with a GVW over 12t in August 2017 and amended the regulation in 2019 to include standards for vehicles of 3.5t to 12t . India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is responsible for enforcement. The standards adopted in 2017 were designed as a two-phase approach: Phase I entered into force in April 2018 and Phase II, originally planned for  April 2021, was eventually not implemented. MoRTH re-notified Phase-I standards in November 2022 which shall come into force in April 2023.

Official source: https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2022/240516.pdf