Indian automakers along with their dealers have asked for a clear plan from the government to combat air pollution after the ruling that bans the sale of diesel cars over 2000cc in capacity in Delhi. As per the WHO (World Health Organisation), 13 of the World’s 20 most polluted cities are in India. Besides banning diesel cars, the Delhi government has also incentivized scrapping of old cars and has cut down on the inflow of trucks into the city.
Just to give an idea about why such serious steps are being taken with regards to pollution; Delhi registered an air quality of 393, while other polluted cities in India like Kolkata and Mumbai registered 212 and 172, respectively. All these figures are higher than Beijing’s 152.
It is the abruptness of the ruling that’s causing all the issues. For starters there are about 2000 diesel vehicles with Delhi dealers in stock across brands which can’t be wished away. Also, because of the immediacy regarding the implementation of the ruling, there’s nothing carmakers can do to bypass the ban right now. Now, dealers in Delhi are planning to return their dead stock to the respective companies or moving them to dealerships outside the NCR and carmakers are strategizing about reducing engine capacities or bringing in new engines altogether; both will be expensive endeavours.
What was needed before this ruling was a clear plan for carmakers to act on. Mohit Arora, executive director at J.D. Power Asia Pacific says on the topic, “There needs to be a clearly laid out roadmap of what the government expects from the industry for the next 5-10 years, so companies get time to adapt and respond.”
Source: ET
