Car makers approach SC over Delhi sales ban

M&M, Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz, GM and Toyota Kirloskar stress their vehicles meet all emission norms

Car makers affected by the ban on sale of diesel vehicles in the national capital region have moved the Supreme Court for a review.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Toyota Kirloskar filed individual petitions on Monday in the apex court seeking a review of the ban while stressing their vehicles met all emission norms.

The apex court on December 16 ordered the prohibition of sale of all diesel vehicles having engines bigger than 2,000 cc in Delhi-NCR till March 31, 2016, because of rising pollution. A bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said the matter would be heard on Tuesday.

"An application was filed in the Supreme Court today, seeking to implead Mahindra & Mahindra as an affected party in the Delhi air pollution case. The application suggests various measures that could further the cause of combating the air pollution problem more effectively than the current approach of banning registration of diesel vehicles 2,000 cc and above, which in our view, will only have a negligible impact, if at all, on the prevailing situation," said a Mahindra & Mahindra spokesperson.

The ban impacts Mahindra & Mahindra the most as five of its six utility vehicles have engines larger than 2,000 cc, including the Bolero, the country's largest selling utility vehicle.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors is also hit with its most popular vehicle Innova being affected. A company spokesperson admitted that the company had filed an application in the Supreme Court today.

The ban is severe for Mercedes-Benz because three of its 11 non-AMG models, the CLS, GL and GLE, are sold only with diesel engines above 2,000 cc. About 70 per cent of Mercedes' sales is diesel driven and Delhi contributes about 15 per cent of its sales. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kapil Sibal and Gopal Subramaniam appeared for Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes and Toyota, respectively.

Tata Motors, whose utility vehicles Safari, Sumo, Movus, Aria and Xenon are affected, also filed a petition today in the court. "Tata Motors has also filed a petition with the Supreme Court with regard to the recent ban on diesel cars in the Delhi-NCR region,” said a Tata Motors spokesperson.

The automobile makers, which have invested heavily in new diesel technology, stressed their vehicles polluted far less than the popular perception.

"Present data reveals that a small percentage of PM 2.5 pollution may be imputed to the automotive sector. We believe the regulatory regime should focus on a practical roadmap for overall emissions control rather than any specific fuel or technology. Selectively banning clean BS IV (Euro 4 equivalent) diesel cars that already meet stringent local and international emission norms will not facilitate pollution control,” added the Tata Motors spokesperson.

Other companies affected by the ban are Volvo, Porsche, Mitsubishi, Maserati, Jaguar Land Rover, Isuzu, Hyundai, Ford, Force Motors, BMW and Audi.