Carmakers are shifting gears as diesel ban drives sales of petrol-run vehicles

From petrol to diesel to petrol again, carmakers are adjusting their sails and tweaking plans to sell more vehicles along with following guidelines of the Supreme Court, which has put a temporary ban on sale of diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.

Few years back when automobile manufacturers were making petrol versions, they had to shift to diesel as it was made cost-efficient due to government subsidy.

Now, since diesel has been banned, carmakers are going back to making petrol-run vehicles to boost sales.

READ ALSO: Ban on diesel-run taxis comes into effect in Delhi-NCR

The share of petrol-run models, which was 42% of total passenger vehicle sales three years earlier, accounted for 56% of India's passenger vehicle sales in the fiscal year ended March 31.

With demands shifting gears, carmakers are finding it tough to adjust as components change and more investments are required.
Three years back, Honda had invested Rs 2,500 crore, set up a diesel component line and a forging unit.

Likewise, Toyota Motor had raked in Rs 1,000 crore for a diesel engine facility and the factory was set to be inaugurated next month.

Toyota Kirloskar's sales and marketing head, N Raja, told ET customers were worried that the ban may spread to smaller diesel vehicles as well and that inquiries for the company's petrol cars had doubled in the NCR. "We have been revising our production plans to meet this shift in demand," he said.

Honda is also planning on changing its supplies more in favour of petrol-run vehicles and Tata Motors has come up with new Revetron petrol engine in the Tiago and Kite 5 models.

Even Maruti is not going to establish a diesel engine plant in Gurgaon.

(Image: Indiatimes)