Diesel cars in India have been a wide choice due to multiple reasons. The first major reason why people buy diesel cars in India is power. A diesel car will surely give you more power than a petrol car and the reasons are simple. Diesel engines work on the compression cycle which enables them to generate more power and torque output. Another popular reason why diesel cars in India have been a popular choice is the difference in the prices of petrol and diesel fuels. There was a time when diesel was way cheaper than petrol. We have seen the fuel prices hike in the last 16 days in India. Guess, the lockdown has hit the fuel industry really hard!
Diesel has lost its advantage
We have seen the prices rise but this time, the price hike has made all the diesel car owners doubt their choices! The difference between the prices of petrol and diesel fuels in India has come to such a mere figure that new buyers are now actually shifting towards petrol engines (and CNG of course!). A diesel vehicle has a lower running cost than a petrol vehicle but can cost you more on the maintenance part. Also, diesel vehicles are a disaster for the environment considering the pollutants they emit. The only advantage of low-running costs has also been wiped out due to the current scenario in the fuel industry.
Considering the only advantage of running costs that these cars offered, people now feel that they have got ‘white elephants’ in their garages! Along with the rising fuel prices, the hiked initial costs of the diesel cars have also made new car buyers doubt their decision.
The Diesel is Dying
The shift of the industry towards the new emission norms (BS6) have made major car makers like Maruti Suzuki opt-out of the diesel engine production processes. Reports also show that the luxury car makers have also experienced a rocket high demand for petrol cars if we compare it to their diesel companions.
Suggested Maruti Suzuki’s War on Diesel Cars with its Diesel Car Cost Calculator
MSIL decided to quit the market of diesel cars in India but other automakers like Honda and Hyundai still have huge hopes. Just to let you know, Hyundai Creta recently crossed 30,000 bookings and among all the Cretas that were booked, 55% were diesel. Honda also has received a fair amount of bookings for their BS6 diesel lineup. The sales figure for both of these brands shows that the demand is not going to die that quick. But these figures were recorded when the lockdown began to ease. Seeing the fast-filling gap between petrol and diesel prices, many customers will surely doubt their choice.
Read Volkswagen May Not Entirely Ditch Diesel Engines Come BS6 Norms
Effect of rising diesel prices on commercial vehicles
While the rising fuel prices have made all the diesel cars owners in India feel cheated, the commercial vehicle owners feel way more betrayed! Talking about passenger vehicles, they have a choice to switch to a petrol vehicle anytime. A similar choice doesn’t lie with the commercial vehicle owners. Trucks and tractors have got no alternative fuel to operate on. According to the Hindustan Times, All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) stated that 65% of the trucks in India are currently standing still due to the rising diesel prices. The demands for goods is already low and increasing the fuel prices at such a time of crisis is making the truck owners re-think their decisions of working on the contracts that they previously took up.
The fate of the Diesel
True, diesel cars in India or rather all the diesel vehicles in India have a bad effect on the environment. At the same time, we can’t ignore the livelihoods that depend on this fuel. All of know the importance of tractors and trucks in our life even if we don’t use them ever. Diesel cars in India can be replaced by petrol or CNG vehicles but the government really needs to give a thought about the small transportation or agriculture workers who have diesel dependant livelihoods. A fact that can’t be ignored here is that petrol prices are also rising significantly so anyhow you will end up paying more if you want to travel.
Read Diesel prices in Delhi hiked by Rs 7.10 per litre!
The potential buyers for heavy vehicles haven’t got any choice but we can expect the sale of diesel cars in India to fall drastically due to the price hike that has made the cost of diesel almost equal to that of petrol.
Diesel is environmentally superior to petrol. But petrol offers greater value addition to the refiner. So this unfortunate shift. The consumer is the loser at the end of the day. Petrol engines are so inefficient they should not exist.