The average fuel efficiency in India will increase by 15%, to 18.2 km/l by 2017 and by 2022 the government aims to target a figure of 22 km/l.
Our government loves to come up with not-so-important polices and rules every now and then. Instead of taking some real measures like fixing roads, enforcing some traffic sense in citizens and teaching the traffic cops how to be more polite, the ministry has now come up with a new rule that states that by 2017, the average fuel efficiency of cars in India should be 18.2 km/l. This figure is 15% more than the existing average fuel efficiency in India. The government is aiming to increase this figure to 22 km/l by 2022. A separate policy will be in place for trucks and buses.
What this means is that vehicle manufacturers in India will have to produce vehicles that produce minimum 18.2 km/l of fuel efficiency. Sure, they can have vehicles that produce mileage lower than this too but the average fuel efficiency of all vehicles from a company needs to be maintained at the required figure. Some companies like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, etc. must be grinning now while premium carmakers might have a tough time because their vehicles usually produce much lesser fuel efficiency. On paper this news may sound good, but how about the government coming up with anti-lemon laws and stricter safety norms too?
When manufacturers will be asked to churn out more fuel efficiency from their cars, companies will resort to tactics such as providing thin tyres, lighter and maybe not-so-strong body shells, etc. which will then impact the overall safety of the vehicle. Is fuel efficiency the only thing that should be given priority in a vehicle? The government wants India to be in the league of US, Japan and Germany so then how about developing roads also similar to those countries? Also, manufacturers keep making tall claims on paper about fuel efficiency when everyone knows the fact that the mileage in day-to-day usage is considerably lower. How about fixing such issues, dear government?
