2.0-litre plus diesel cars ban continues in Delhi

The ban on diesel cars with more than 2.0-litre engine continues in New Delhi. The initial ban as till 31st of March 2016, and this was implemented by the Supreme Court. As per a judgement that was passed today, the ban will continue in the NCR region. New Delhi has one of the highest levels of pollution and these measures are taken to reduce the pollution.

Delhi is estimated to contribute nearly 7% to sales of cars and SUVs in the country and is one of the top markets for premium and higher-variant models. Around 36% cars sold in the city have diesel engines while for SUVs and utility vehicles, this figure are as high as 90%.

There is large-scale confusion at dealerships as confused customers, some of them who have already paid for their cars but awaiting registration, have been asked to wait till January 6^th 2016. Some have chosen to register their vehicles outside Delhi in NCR regions such as Noida and Gurgaon (provided they can manage an address proof), while a section are asking for cancellation of the booking of the diesel variant as they opt for a petrol option.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which gets almost 100% of its sales through diesel variants, faces a major challenge. For mainline players such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda, the situation is still not that acute as they get about 30-40% of their sales from diesel variants. For luxury makers, the situation is equally bad. “Around 85-90% of models sold by Mercedes, BMW and Audi are diesel variants.