Fuel consumption from light commercial vehicles in India, fiscal years 2019–20 and 2020–21
In April of 2020, the Indian government introduced its Bharat Stage VI (BS VI) emissions standards for all new sales of automobiles, which replaced the Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) norms. While BS VI does not govern carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (but instead covers pollutants like carbon monoxide [CO], particulate matter [PM], oxides of nitrogen [NOx] and others), these new emission standards prompted manufacturers to make changes to their light commercial vehicle (LCV) models, or introduce new BS VI LCV models. This paper examines the CO2 emission implications of vehicle model changes between the last year of BS IV (fiscal year 2019–20) and the first year of BS VI (FY 2020–21). The purpose is to highlight the potential contribution to India’s climate stabilization efforts of future standards for CO2 and fuel consumption in LCVs.
