Why do we have less Fuel Efficient cars in India ?

[Karandeep81]

Hey guys

I've been to the UK for 3 years now and drive a 1.4 16 V Nissan Almera. Cars across Europe (includes sedans and suv's) have an amazing fuel efficiency. I mean my car gives me an avg of 15 km/l, which in India is obtained with a 1.0 l engine (say in a wagon r)

This question really baffles me as Europe isn't that financially constrained as India is and atleast in the UK an avg person can earn a litre of fuel by working just 1 hour.

The FE of Octavia and Fiesta in India is very normal for this part of the world and you can see their success in a country where FE plays such an imp role to buy a car.

Y do we have less FE cars in our country ? Is it to do with the road conditions or the quality of Fuel ?

Do you think that our govt should make a bit more stringent laws enforcing companies to deliver more FE cars ? (Its not impossible as a 1.3 Swift here delivers a combined FE of 16 - 17 kmpl)

IMHO I won't mind paying a bit extra for more FE ...

[Mods : if this thread has been discussed you can remove it]

[Whenasked]

Originally Posted by Karandeep81

Hey guys

I've been to the UK for 3 years now and drive a 1.4 16 V Nissan Almera. Cars across Europe (includes sedans and suv's) have an amazing fuel efficiency. I mean my car gives me an avg of 15 km/l, which in India is obtained with a 1.0 l engine (say in a wagon r)

This question really baffles me as Europe isn't that financially constrained as India is and atleast in the UK an avg person can earn a litre of fuel by working just 1 hour.

The FE of Octavia and Fiesta in India is very normal for this part of the world and you can see their success in a country where FE plays such an imp role to buy a car.

Y do we have less FE cars in our country ? Is it to do with the road conditions or the quality of Fuel ?

Do you think that our govt should make a bit more stringent laws enforcing companies to deliver more FE cars ? (Its not impossible as a 1.3 Swift here delivers a combined FE of 16 - 17 kmpl)

IMHO I won't mind paying a bit extra for more FE ...

[Mods : if this thread has been discussed you can remove it]

How can we expect better fuel efficiency when the average speed barely touches 25kmph in city driving conditions in India?

Same engine between India & other developed countries will give two extreme results

[hellspawn]

Originally Posted by Karandeep81

Do you think that our govt should make a bit more stringent laws enforcing companies to deliver more FE cars ?

oh please NOOOOO!!!
what about us petrolheads???

[reignofchaos]

Well give us proper uncongested roads and the FE will come automatically.

[toiingg]

Also better quality unadulterated fuel would make a significant improvement. in FE

[reignofchaos]

^^That already has a solution... use shell .

[horsepower]

I guess it is because of various factors such as

1) Bad road conditions and stop and go traffic situation in most part of the country, even highways.
2) Bad traffic sense, people not following rules on the road.
3) Adulterated fuel being supplied by the pumps.

[toiingg]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^That already has a solution... use shell .

That option is yet to come to this nick of the woods, I wrote to shell and they mentioned that it would be a while before shell comes to Calcutta

[rajshenoy]

If the roads improve, so will the FE. its simple dude..

my swift gives amazing mileage on highways...reason? less gearshift, smooth roads. and i better not talk abt city traffic.

this is the only reason i feel.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

^^That already has a solution... use shell .

hmm.. but no Shell in NCR

[Dhar's]

Apart from unadulterated fuel, the Octane level also plays a role.

[appuchan]

Also driving style matters a lot. Here once people get into there vehicles, they are in a hurry, no matter what is their purpose. It is as if he is stitting on a seat of thorns, so impatient. The same person may be the slowest mover when outside.

Fuel and road quality is improving here and it is showing. And you might have seen some threads here about mileages like 30+ kmpl . But when it comes to gas stations in rural areas and highways, its still not much different regarding adulteration, unless its of Reliance/Shell brand. This is mainly because of the wafer thin margins (roughly 1%) offered by Govt owned petroleum cos does not correspond to the quantities they sell and maintenance costs, making it difficult to survive.

[ad75]

we rarely get a chance to dive in the top gear in city.even if we do get it not for a long time.its more of bumer to bumper traffic.
fuel quality & quantity is also to blame
bad roads is another reason

on highways 15kmpl wont be difficult

[theMAG]

3reasons:

1. Car cos wont provide a new-gen engine - that potentially is more fuel efficient, unless absolutely mandated by emission control norms. E.g.: the Esteem engine still in use after a decade or more and also on the newer Swift

2. Fuel quality: This plays a large role. Most fuel in India is adulterated. The few ones that are pure like Shell or Reliance, are therefore in demand but are not as wide-spread as Indian oil cos ops.

3. Traffic conditions: While most countries have gridlocked traffic, in India we not only have that but also poor infrastrcuture. If all roads across India were uniformly smooth in line with international standards, expect a significant bump up in mileage even with the same traffic conditions

Do you think that our govt should make a bit more stringent laws enforcing companies to deliver more FE cars ?

Interestingly, I'd posted a similar thread abt govt mandated fuel efficiency:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...y-mileage.html (Mandatory Mileage)

[mclaren1885]

I would tend do disagree. Every engine (well almost) comes to India "detuned" to cope up with the bad fuel quality and also to give a better FE by sacrificing on performance. Where else in the world do you get cars giving you 15-18kmpl in city conditions like bangalore? Look at our bikes. Where else in the world will anyone be able to squeeze 70kmpl from a Hero Honda Splendor or 100kmpl from a Boxer CT? We Indian's are known to squeeze even that last drop of fuel from the lines.

We do have fuel efficient cars, its just that the driving conditions that are lacking.