The financial
year 2015-16 ended on a sour note for several automobile manufacturers in the
country when the Supreme Court in a hearing extended the ban on diesel vehicle
registration in Delhi. Thus, all diesel cars with engine capacity over 2000 cc
in will not be allowed to be registered in the national capital region. The
court also imposed a one-time cess on purchase of diesel vehicles in a bid to
clean up Delhi’s toxic air.
Meanwhile,
the apex court also extended the March 31, 2016 deadline for private taxi
operators in NCR to switch to CNG from diesel. The reprieve is for a period of
one month.
Coming back
to the diesel car ban, in December 2015, the court had banned the registration
of new diesel cars and SUVs with engine capacity of over 2000 cc until March
31. Now in its latest hearing, the court told car manufacturers that the ban
will continue if they opposed a proposed pollution cess. The court had earlier
also banned the entry of large commercial vehicles such as trucks into Delhi
and imposed a cess.
However, the court
exempted high-security vehicles belonging to the Special Protection Group from
the diesel registration ban. It said that 30pc of the vehicle’s price will have
to be paid as compensation. The ban aims to reduce the vehicular pollution in
Delhi city and the court feels that by banning these modern and sophisticated
diesel cars there would be a dent on the pollution levels.
The ban on
diesel cars with engine capacities above 2000cc has affected a slew of
companies that include Audi India, BMW India, Force Motors, General Motors
India, Ford India, Hyundai Motor India, Toytoa Kirloskar, Isuzu Motors, Jaguar
Land Rover, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz India, Mitsubishi
India, Porsche India and Tata Motors.