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India's auto makers oppose plans to ban diesel cars in Delhi

According to press reports, the Delhi state government has been considering a ban on sales of diesel cars in the India capital to bring down emission levels. This move is opposed by the Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM).

AIAM said the government role should be to stipulate stringent emission regulations and provide requisite high quality fuels. The route to achieve the emission standards should be left to the industry. AIAM also said that pollution in Delhi was caused by a lack of adequate public transport, as well as inadequate traffic planning causing traffic jams and concentration of pollution.

AIAM estimated that 30,000 diesel cars were sold in India in 1997/98 (April-March) out of a total of 401,0022 cars. Even though only 8 percent of the diesel cars produced were sold in Delhi, AIAM fears that if one state government banned diesel cars, many others would follow suit.

Indian car manufacturers have been investing heavily in dieselisation programs. The diesel fuel is sold at subsidised rates in India to power the transport sector. A liter of gasoline normally costs 2.5 times more than a liter of diesel fuel.

AIAM said it had proposed several joint initiatives with the government to ensure better fuel quality and better emission inspection for diesel vehicles.

Telco claims diesel cars pollute less

Domestic auto major Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited (Telco) yesterday kicked off a debate over advantages of diesel vehicles vis-a-vis petrol vehicles, apparently in an attempt to change the public perception that diesel is a dirty oil and is more polluting than petrol.

"The fact is that diesel is low in emissions, dynamic in ferrying, economic in usage, can be manufactured conveniently and without much damage to the environment,” Telco advisor J Ramnath said in a presentation.

Furnishing figures and latest trends, Ramnath said studies have shown that diesel engines have the highest thermo-dynamic efficiency and consume 30 per cent less fuel than petrol engines. In urban stop-start driving conditions, this advantage is enhanced up to 70 per cent.

He also said that contrary to the general perception, diesel engines require less maintenance than a comparative petrol engine and as a result have longer life.

Elaborating on the lower emission levels by diesel engines, he said because diesel engines consume less fuel per kilometre, they have less mass emissions. “The CO2 generation by diesel engines is 2.5 times less than petrol engines,” he said.

Talking about the latest trend of growing popularity of diesel vehicles, he said in Europe, percentage of diesel cars have gone up from 22 per cent in 1995 to about 29 per cent.

Even in the US, where diesel was considered as a dirty fuel, a joint government, automobile industry and oil industry initiative started in 1993 to evolve the most fuel efficient vehicles has found that diesel is emerging as the fuel of choice for the future’, he said.

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