New Delhi, July 20 -- The government released the latest draft of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) 3 norms on 16 July, setting off fresh debate over the stringent emission standards for the auto industry. As carmakers scramble to meet the tougher norms, Mint unpacks the details and what they would mean for buyers in the years ahead.

Simply put, CAFE norms were brought in to force carmakers to launch cleaner vehicles and promote their sales. By putting targets on each manufacturer to limit average carbon dioxide emissions from their sales, it nudges them to improve efficiency of their traditional fuel vehicles and bring in cleaner technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), CNG, hybrids and flex-fuel (running on high ethanol...