new delhi how fuel efficient is your car or twowheeler chances are you dont know or have only a foggy idea based on what brochures collected from showrooms said and they dont even factor in the difference between test conditions and reallife ones by the yearend though the government will make your job easierunder a voluntary scheme vehicles are set to carry star rating labels that will specify how much fuel each model consumes and how well each fares in comparison to others in the same range the government will certify as muchthe star ratings will conform to a voluntary standard and labelling scheme for the automotive sector the first step towards enforcing mandatory fuel efficiency standards for cars twowheelers and heavy commercial vehicles the bureau of energy efficiency had begun the process of setting up mandatory fuel economy standards for cars twowheelers and heavy commercial vehicles almost a year ago but the move has gained momentum since following pressure from consumerswith todays buyer as much hemmed in by growing oil prices as he or she is influenced by environment concerns bee believes the market itself will force a substantial number of auto manufacturers to fall in line with the voluntary standards and get their models verified for mileage before they put them in the marketthe autofuel policy had more than three years ago suggested that the auto sector come up with such voluntary schemes but the industry dragged its feet now the bureau of energy efficiency mandated under the energy conservation act wants to use growing consumer consciousness to its advantage while most developed countries spread over the americas europe and asia as well as key developing countries like china have already brought in mandatory standards india has lagged behind substantially in cleaning up its actbee along with the auto industry experts and other stakeholders is already in the process of developing standards for different categories of cars the auto industry which has for long held back from sharing fuel efficiency data with buyers is now more constructive bee sources said adding that the agency will help willing manufacturers label their models and certify the fuel efficiency ratings of the vehicleswith the bureau having successfully set up the twostep process of first bringing in voluntary labelling and then setting up mandatory standards for electrical appliances like airconditioners and refrigerators it is confident that with some modifications the system would become successful for the auto sector as well for starters though it needs to work on a comprehensive classification method two committees set up to formulate standards are yet to arrive at one