We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
Climate Lobbying Overview: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) appears to engage with mostly negative positions on Indian automotive climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: SIAM appears generally unsupportive of ambitious climate policy regulation. SIAM's corporate website in 2020 has stated support for a market-based automotive policy response on climate. In 2020, SIAM released top-line public statements that argued against introducing new climate policy for the automotive sector due to the Covid pandemic.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has negative engagement with Indian climate policy. In 2020, SIAM advocated that the government reject the introduction of new CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) emission standards due to the Covid pandemic. In 2018, SIAM similarly opposed policies to tighten Indian CAFE emissions standards from 108gm/km to 104gm/km. In a March 2022 Economic Times media report, Kenichi Ayukawa, president of SIAM further stated that the automotive industry has been pushing back against CAFE II emission norms in India.
Positioning on Energy Transition: SIAM has a mixed position on the transition to electric vehicles. In 2018-20, SIAM has argued that Indian EV ambitions should be “tempered” according to a 2019 media report, while also emphasizing cost concerns and supporting a "technology-neutral” approach on its corporate website in 2020. SIAM has further criticized regulations supporting an urgent transition to electric vehicles according to a 2018 media report. In 2018, SIAM communicated opposition to a 2030 EV 100% target date in a policy paper, supporting a weaker 2047 EV target date. In 2019, SIAM stated opposition to proposed Indian 100% EV targets of 2023 for two-wheelers, and 2025 for three-wheelers. In 2019, SIAM strongly supported the introduction of a reduced EV sales tax and custom duties exemptions for EV parts that SIAM had proposed to the Indian government.