Fuel-efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles

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. 

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