Companies with “gas guzzlers” are trying to set up the wrong narrative against small cars getting relaxation in the proposed corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE-III) norms on the basis of weight, Maruti Suzuki senior executive officer corporate affairs Rahul Bharti said on Monday, bringing to the fore deep division among carmakers regarding the upcoming rules.

Photograph: Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters

A section of carmakers, including Tata Motors, is opposing any leniency for small cars under the proposed CAFE-III norms on the basis of weight and affordability, while bigger players like Maruti Suzuki have argued that the idea behind the new norms is to make big cars improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Speaking with reporters during the monthly sales call, Bharti charged that “incorrect facts and narratives” are being pushed in a very irresponsible manner by some companies to take away attention from their large gas-guzzlers.

“Some incorrect facts and narratives are being pushed in a very irresponsible manner by the makers of some large gas guzzlers to take away attention from their large gas guzzlers.

“I have heard through our media friends about their (other OEMs) claim of arbitrary relaxation for small cars.

“More than 90 per cent of the world automobile market provides structured relaxations for small cars,” he said, reflecting on the deep divide among countries’ carmakers regarding the CAFE-III norms.

“China does it at about 1090 kg; Europe actually relaxes targets below 1115 kg; Korea at 1100 kg; Japan follows a continuous parabolic curve where the delta in target keeps on reducing with weight.

“The US does it on a footprint of 41 square feet.

“Are they (some OEMs) saying that policymakers of all these countries, Europe, the US, China, Korea, and Japan, have taken arbitrary decisions?

“One should be very careful and do one’s research before accusing the governments of all these countries as arbitrary,” Bharti thundered.

Earlier Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles MD & CEO, Shailesh Chandra had stated that no leniency must be granted to small cars in the CAFE-III norms on the basis of weight and affordability as it would compromise safety features while distracting from concrete action towards sustainable mobility.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India has been vocal in proposing such a concession for small cars and its chairman R C Bhargava had argued that the idea behind CAFE norms was to make big cars improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

Auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), of which Chandra is the president, is a divided house on the issue.

While the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar and Honda Cars India want small cars to be granted benefits, others like Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hyundai and Kia are against it.

Chandra had noted that Tata does not support any move to include weight in the definition of small cars.

“Such an arbitrary criteria would conflict with one of the country’s most critical imperative that is safety,” he had stated.

When asked if his comments reflected the division among different companies, Bharti said: “I do not think this is true. It is only a limited point of small cars where I would have been much prouder if people took a national view instead of their immediate company’s views.”

He noted that across the world, small cars are given benefits when it comes to emissions.

Europe has provided 18 per cent relaxation, China, Japan, South Korea and the US all have relaxed targets for the small cars, he added.

“So if the whole world is doing it, there must be some wisdom that the policymakers are following,” Bharti said.

When asked if the company’s small cars like Alto and S Presso would suffer if relaxation is not given, he said: “The problem is not in the car.

“The problem is targets. They become really unscientific.”

Bharti said the risk is that if the targets become unscientific, then a small car which produces the lowest Co2 will have to be discontinued.

“That we don’t want. So this is why we want to keep the targets realistic, tough, but realistic and with some stretch, of course, but they should not be globally unachievable,” he added.

On the safety aspect, Bharti said all small cars in India follow the same regulations as the big cars.

“Maruti Suzuki provides six airbags as standard across all variants, not just the top variants.

“We don’t differentiate between the lives of a richer customer and a poorer one.

“However, many companies in India are not doing that.

“They are saving money on the lower variants, avoiding putting six airbags, putting just in the top few variants, and removing them in the lower variants,” he stated.

Chandra had noted that diluting emission norms based on weight criteria compromises vehicle safety and will distract from concrete action towards sustainable mobility.

The CAFE norms, started from 2017, set a limit on average fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of a manufacturer’s overall fleet with an aim to push carmakers to improve their overall fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.

The CAFE II began in 2022 and the next phase CAFE III is likely to start from April 2027, for which new criteria are currently under discussion between various stakeholders with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Power Ministry releasing draft regulation in September this year for feedback.

Bharti said Maruti Suzuki will do everything to rejuvenate the small or compact car segments.

“Many people were spreading a wrong narrative that the small car is not being purchased as entry customers are directly buying expensive SUVs and so the segment didn’t need any support,” he stated.

If the large cars and SUVs were growing at high rates and the entry customers were also buying expensive cars, then the industry before GST should have been growing by over 20 per cent, he added.

“But it was stagnant at nearly zero per cent. So obviously this narrative is totally incorrect, which the GST benefit has proven,” Bharti said.

Today, 3 per cent of India’s population owns a car, and it is the collective responsibility to enable people from the 97 per cent club to experience coming into the car ownership club, he added.

“And that is the responsibility of the market leader. Maruti Suzuki is a market leader, and leadership, more than anything, means responsibility.

“So, while some companies may want to avail of only the high demand segments, it is Maruti Suzuki’s responsibility to take care of all segments,” Bharti said.