Makers of small cars won relief of sorts on Thursday, with the draft rules on fleet-wide emissions carving out a niche for them with a lighter burden.

Cars shorter than four meters, weighing less than 909 kg and powered by sub-1200 cc engines will get an advantage of 3 grams while calculating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for so-called Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE 3) rules, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) said. This marks a victory for Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which had lobbied for its small cars such as the Alto and the Wagon-R. Though the draft rules do not provide the emissions exemption that Maruti Suzuki had demanded, it still provides an edge for makers of small automobiles.

CAFE norms require carmakers to improve fuel efficiency across their fleets, not just in

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