While welcoming decision of the Supreme Court on lifting ban on cars and SUVs with diesel engine capacity of 2,000cc and above in Delhi-NCR Automobile industry said efforts must be made to address the real cause of pollution instead of targetting a particular type of fuel.
Worst affected carmakers in like Toyota and Mercedes-Benz, which had offered to pay 1 per cent green cess, insisted they made the voluntary offer in order to overcome the ban and “not on the premise that our vehicles are polluting the environment”.
The Japanese auto maker insisted that its stand to hold back investments in India will continue till it gets a clarity on the future road map both from a court’s stand point and Government’s policy side.
“Our vehicles meet every norms laid out in the country. We made the offer of 1 per cent green cess under duress. While we welcome the Supreme Court decision, we wish if only the Court did this earlier,” Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice-Chairman and Whole-time Director Shekar Viswanathan told news agency PTI.
He further said the diesel fuel has been maligned and wondered if it has damaged the environment so much that it had to be banned.
When asked if Toyota would now reconsider its decision to hold back investments in India, Viswanathan said: “We will still wait for the final pronouncement. We will wait for a clear statement from the court and government on the road ahead for diesel fuel.”
Echoing the view, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Roland S Folger said the company had followed the earlier direction of the Supreme Court and filed an Interim Application seeking relief on the ban on its cars.
“Following the court suggestion, we as a voluntary interim measure, offered to pay 1 per cent of the ex-showroom price of the vehicle towards anticipated Environment Compensation Charge as a deposit, and not on the premise that our vehicles are polluting the environment,” he said.
Mercedes-Benz had also said it was putting on hold its future investments in India in the wake of the ban on big diesel cars and SUVs.
Welcoming the apex court’s decision, Mahindra & Mahindra Executive Director Pawan Goenka, said: “We are very relieved with the decision of the Honourable Supreme Court today. Hope this decision will put all controversy surrounding diesel fuel behind us and we will be able to focus on the more important task of making our vehicles compliant with BS 6 norms by April 2020.”
Maruti Suzuki Chairman R C Bhargava termed the decision as one “which the entire industry was waiting for a long time”.
Hyundai Motor India Senior Vice-President Sales & Marketing Rakesh Srivastava said: “It is a positive step and will address the challenge being faced by customers and various stakeholders.”
SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said the Supreme Court’s decision will bring certain amount of relief for those companies whose vehicles were affected by the ban.
“However, they will be at a comparative disadvantage due to the one per cent green cess. The main concern of the automobile industry is that this issue will crop up again in October-November with the onset of winter when pollution increases,” he said.
He further said: “We need to look at the long term and find the real cause of pollution to address the issue. We stand by our view that cars are only a minor contributor to the overall pollution.”
Speaking on the development, Tom von Bonsdorff, Managing Director, Volvo Auto India said: “It has come as a big relief for the automobile industry and related stakeholders. We are sure this decision has been taken keeping in mind the desire of the Apex Court to protect Delhi’s environment and we are happy to contribute to that cause. With Volvo launching the first plug-in hybrid petrol SUV soon, we hope to give a product to the customers which comes as a package of green luxury.’’