MUMBAI: Although there have been efforts to encourage citizens to switch from diesel to cleaner fuel, such as CNG or electric, the latest statistics procured by Mumbai Mirror this week showed a rise in diesel vehicle registrations across Mumbai in the past two years. The year-on-year increase was 32% in 2022 compared to 2021, and 4% in 2023 compared to 2022.
The highest number of diesel registrations in 2023 were in the island city where, RTO officials said, many brand new SUVs and also imported vehicles on diesel were registered and were among a total 6,272 registrations at Tardeo RTO.The next highest registrations were in the far flung suburbs between Goregaon and Dahisar.
Several new diesel-run SUVs with higher engine capacity and horsepower, more spacious and with better suspension and advanced driver assistance systems hit the roads between 2021 and 2023, attracting more buyers, said car dealers. Though registrations went up, officials said it is yet to touch pre-Covid level when diesel vehicles were at maximum (it is 24% short of pre-Covid level of 2019), but experts added that with growing demand for compact SUVs running on this fuel, the numbers could increase this year.
Transport expert Vivek Pai said the diesel car dealers are quite “bullish” when it comes to sales. “Delhi NCR has a 10-year cap on diesel vehicles, and fear was that this will be implemented in other cities as well. It has, however, not happened in Mumbai, where the life span is 15 years. A car manufacturer also clarified that new diesel engines are with pollution levels less than previous engines.”
He further said that if one drives a diesel vehicle, it provides higher torque — which helps the driver overcome any kind of elevation and winding roads. “Diesel is also a cheaper fuel than petrol — less by Rs 12 a litre in Mumbai — and leads to fuel savings for those who drive long distances.
It has better fuel efficiency in new car models,” he said.
A lot of new SUVs were also in demand because they helped go off-roading (act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks), said public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal.
He said diesel registrations, although increasing, could have risen further had there been no Electric Vehicle (EV) option. “The overall share of diesel among all fuels has gone down recently due to EV adoption in the four wheeler category,” he said.
Besides, while deciding the car variant, people think about torque power, ease of refueling when going long distance and off roading, he pointed out. Also people argue that if the majority of electricity in EVs is based on thermal power, then it is not 100% saving the environment as claimed by many enthusiasts.
It may be recalled that in April 2020, a few leading automobile companies withdrew production of cars with diesel engines less than 1.5 litre capacity. This was after BS-6 norms were introduced from April 1, 2020, and it was “not viable” for some companies to manufacture cars at high costs. Sources said that this led to few car makers discontinuing diesel engines in hatchbacks and sedans (1 litre to 1.5 litre engine capacity) from April 1, 2020, while few others continued to manufacture them despite exorbitant costs amid strict emission norms.
A diesel vehicle manufacturer recently put up a post on social media, stating, “When it comes to reducing the pollution caused by vehicular emissions, your BS6 diesel engine runs on ‘cleaner fuel’ that has five times lower sulphur content than BS4 fuel. It produces significantly less particulate matter on combustion. With a BS6 diesel engine, nitrogen oxides are reduced substantially — due to advanced car engine technology.”
Also, to meet emission standards, automakers are now adding treatments to diesel engines. For example, one of the latest SUVs hitting the roads has an additional tank which needs to be filled with a liquid (solution) which is used to reduce the amount of air pollution created by the diesel engine. The cost of operation, however, goes up slightly for car buyers in such vehicles, said sources.
The highest number of diesel registrations in 2023 were in the island city where, RTO officials said, many brand new SUVs and also imported vehicles on diesel were registered and were among a total 6,272 registrations at Tardeo RTO.The next highest registrations were in the far flung suburbs between Goregaon and Dahisar.
Several new diesel-run SUVs with higher engine capacity and horsepower, more spacious and with better suspension and advanced driver assistance systems hit the roads between 2021 and 2023, attracting more buyers, said car dealers. Though registrations went up, officials said it is yet to touch pre-Covid level when diesel vehicles were at maximum (it is 24% short of pre-Covid level of 2019), but experts added that with growing demand for compact SUVs running on this fuel, the numbers could increase this year.
Transport expert Vivek Pai said the diesel car dealers are quite “bullish” when it comes to sales. “Delhi NCR has a 10-year cap on diesel vehicles, and fear was that this will be implemented in other cities as well. It has, however, not happened in Mumbai, where the life span is 15 years. A car manufacturer also clarified that new diesel engines are with pollution levels less than previous engines.”
He further said that if one drives a diesel vehicle, it provides higher torque — which helps the driver overcome any kind of elevation and winding roads. “Diesel is also a cheaper fuel than petrol — less by Rs 12 a litre in Mumbai — and leads to fuel savings for those who drive long distances.
It has better fuel efficiency in new car models,” he said.
A lot of new SUVs were also in demand because they helped go off-roading (act of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, dirt, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks), said public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal.
He said diesel registrations, although increasing, could have risen further had there been no Electric Vehicle (EV) option. “The overall share of diesel among all fuels has gone down recently due to EV adoption in the four wheeler category,” he said.
Besides, while deciding the car variant, people think about torque power, ease of refueling when going long distance and off roading, he pointed out. Also people argue that if the majority of electricity in EVs is based on thermal power, then it is not 100% saving the environment as claimed by many enthusiasts.
It may be recalled that in April 2020, a few leading automobile companies withdrew production of cars with diesel engines less than 1.5 litre capacity. This was after BS-6 norms were introduced from April 1, 2020, and it was “not viable” for some companies to manufacture cars at high costs. Sources said that this led to few car makers discontinuing diesel engines in hatchbacks and sedans (1 litre to 1.5 litre engine capacity) from April 1, 2020, while few others continued to manufacture them despite exorbitant costs amid strict emission norms.
A diesel vehicle manufacturer recently put up a post on social media, stating, “When it comes to reducing the pollution caused by vehicular emissions, your BS6 diesel engine runs on ‘cleaner fuel’ that has five times lower sulphur content than BS4 fuel. It produces significantly less particulate matter on combustion. With a BS6 diesel engine, nitrogen oxides are reduced substantially — due to advanced car engine technology.”
Also, to meet emission standards, automakers are now adding treatments to diesel engines. For example, one of the latest SUVs hitting the roads has an additional tank which needs to be filled with a liquid (solution) which is used to reduce the amount of air pollution created by the diesel engine. The cost of operation, however, goes up slightly for car buyers in such vehicles, said sources.