Are Diesel Engines Disappearing From Indian Auto Market?

The share of diesel engine vehicles in the Indian motor market is decreasing and even some automakers have started discontinuing the making of their diesel variants. According to a report by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in 2012-13 the share of diesel cars in the market was roughly 58 percent whereas today in the fiscal year 21-22 the percentage has observed a huge deep by leaving only 17 percent of the diesel engine in the market.

There are many factors due to which the market is observing the gap. One of the main reasons is the price gap between the rate of petrol and diesel. The price gap between petrol and diesel prices was Rs 20-25 per litre in 2012-13 but now it is Rs 7-9 per litre. The petrol prices were higher than diesel in 2014 because diesel was subsidised but then in 2014  government deregulated the subsidy and the price started getting up.

Another reason is the new norms on engines ordered by the government. When the auto market shifted from Bharat Stage - III to Bharat Stage - IV, a hike of approximately one lakh rupees was there in new price lists of diesel engine vehicles. To control the pollution the government ordered directly to make Bharat Stage - VI engines skipping Bharat Stage - V and the price moved up by another hike of one lakh rupees again with BS- VI diesel engines. Due to this hike and observing the changing buying behaviour of the customer, Maruti Suzuki started discontinuing its diesel engine cars. In fact, many companies are also following the footsteps of Maruti by discontinuing their diesel-powered small cars. Companies such as Tata Motors whose forte has been diesel engine cars are agreeing to discontinue diesel cars. 

Other than these reasons, the maintenance of diesel cars is much higher than petrol cars. According to National Green Tribunal (NGT), the life span of a diesel car is five years lesser compared to petrol cars which are 15 years for them whereas 10 years for diesel cars. The government tried to eliminate unfit and old vehicles through the new National Scrapping Policy.

It is noticed, big SUVs are still running on diesel and customers still prefer to buy diesel engines for powerful torque. It looks like diesel will be a part of the Indian auto market in long run but as change is constant in this world, someday diesel cars will be replaced after a couple of years.