In a new bid to save the environment and in a rather amusing move, the court will pass an order to ban the registration of diesel cars in Delhi.
Delhi is known for its pollution but what it is also known for is the number of vehicles, especially SUVs that ply in the city. While the government gave us a shocker with the passing of the odd-even rule, what is even more shocking and interesting is the fact that the court has agreed to ban registration of diesel cars in the capital. Diesel cars with engines having a capacity of more than 2.0-litre are the ones which are banned from registration.
While it is obvious for citizens to cry foul, but it is also the dealerships and auto companies that are going to be completely against this move. According to the government, it is the increasing number of diesel vehicles that is contributing significantly to all this pollution. Diesel cars are said to cause 7.5 times more pollution than their petrol counterparts. However, are cars the only source of pollution in Delhi?
This move by the court is going to have a very drastic effect on the auto industry. Cars like Mercedes, BMW and Audi are very popular in Delhi and while BMW and Audi do have engines which are lesser than 2000cc, it is actually Mercedes who is going to be the most affected in the luxury car market. The German automaker uses 2.2-litre engines on most of its high-selling cars. While BMW and Audi also have higher capacity engines, the fact is that those high-end cars sell in lesser numbers compared to relatively cheaper offerings.
Not only the luxury market, even mass-market cars are going to be affected by a very huge margin. The Toyota Innova is one of the most popular MPVs across the country and it is bought in good numbers by cab companies as well as private buyers. The Innova also has a diesel engine which is higher in capacity than 2.0-litre. Apart from that, Mahindra also sells many high capacity engined cars like the XUV500 which is also quite a popular car.
The logic of the court seems quite illogical. The judge passed a statement that, “The rich can’t go around in SUVs polluting the environment.” But the matter of the fact is that this ban is going to affect more mass-market cars like the Innova, Scorpio and XUV500 as compared to the high-end models from Mercedes, BMW and Audi. Also, buyers in the luxury car space are affluent enough to get their new vehicles registered in neighbouring areas like Haryana (HR) and Uttar Pradesh (UP). Don’t you think that in the end it is only the “aam-aadmi” who is going to be affected by this?
So does this logic of banning diesel cars above 2000cc actually work? What about all the cars that ministers themselves are using? What about those huge convoys of 10-15 cars that ministers and government officials use? What about controlling other sectors like industries and factories that also contribute to pollution? Do you really think all these moves are really going to work?
