42 Out Of 86 Diesel Cars in India To Be Discontinued From Tomorrow

Around 40 diesel cars and SUVs will be discontinued in the Indian market from tomorrow as the carmakers will concentrate more on manufacturing petrol, CNG and electric vehicles in the coming times. It's noteworthy here that several carmakers, including Maruti Suzuki, has decided against the sale of diesel vehicles in the BS6 era. Of course, much of this is owing to the fast-dwindling demand for diesel cars, especially in the lower segments. Among the models that will no longer remain on sale are diesel variants of some popular cars like Swift and Baleno. 

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Many car manufacturers have decided to discontinue diesel vehicles from their portfolio

Some other car manufacturers that have decided to discontinue diesel vehicles from their portfolio incude Renault, Volkswagen and Skoda. In a related development, it has emerged that most dealerships across the nation are under a huge pressure due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the resultant lockdown preventing the sale of of the leftover BS4 stock before the 1st April 2020 deadline. Recently, a petition was filed by dealers along with some manufacturers to extend the deadline so that they can clear the remaining BS4 stock. The Supreme Court permitted to sell 10% of the existing stock once the lockdown lifts. 

Director (marketing & sales), Maruti Suzuki, Shashank Srivastava says “Of the 86 diesel models currently selling in the country, a total of 42 will be discontinued, including seven from Maruti,”   Maruti Chairman RC Bhargavav said “In small cars, the cost of upgrading diesel engines to BS6 standards will be substantial. With the price increase, these vehicles will become unviable for customers. We will completely stop selling diesel vehicles from April next year,”

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The Supreme Court permitted to sell around 10% of the existing stock

Moreover, the demand for diesel cars in India is constantly reducing because diesel vehicles are more expensive compared to the petrol cars and the gap between the prices of petrol and diesel has come down significantly in recent times. Moreover, the life span of diesel cars in Delhi-NCR is 10 years, while the petrol models have a life-span of 15 years, which has been one of the reasons for the dropping popularity of oil-burner-equipped models.