

Mahindra, Tata win emission test relief for light commercial vehicles even as small car tussle continues
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. NEW DELHI : Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (M&M) and Tata Motors Ltd secured an early win in emission testing rules for light commercial vehicles, even as they oppose Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s demand for relief for small cars under the separate fuel-efficiency norms.
India has exempted N1, or light commercial vehicles (LCV) weighing less than 3.5 tonnes, from compliance under the Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Test Procedure (WLTP) for Bharat Stage (BS) VI emission norms. An April 2025 draft had proposed bringing these vehicles under WLTP, but the stricter test was formally notified only for passenger cars and light minibuses on 4 February.
The rules will be effective April 2027. The tests limit pollutants per vehicle under more realistic driving conditions, making compliance costlier than under the current Modified Indian Driving Cycle (MIDC) test.
The relief marks a major regulatory victory for Mahindra and Tata Motors, which account for about 70% of India’s LCV sales, protecting the affordability of the "bottom of the pyramid" transport segment. Mahindra’s models in the category include Bolero and Maxx pick-ups to Jeeto truck series, while Tata sells Ace, Yoddha and Ultra series of vehicles.
“In cities like Delhi, where restrictions on medium and heavy-duty trucks push a significant share of urban freight onto smaller N1 vehicles (light commercial vehicles), strengthening emission requirements for this segment becomes particularly important," said Amit Bhatt, India managing director at the International Council on Clean Transportation. “Applying more rigorous and real-world-oriented testing to N1 trucks will help better manage emissions from last-mile freight movement, while cities
. Read on livemint.com