Luxury car buyers in NCR opt for petrol engines

Buyers in the country’s biggest luxury car market, the National Capital Region (NCR), are opting for petrol-fuelled vehicles like never before. Approximately half of the new luxury car buyers are purchasing petrol variants in response to the uncertainties around diesel after a Supreme Court ban in December last year.

Following the Supreme Court ban on sales of diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2,000cc and above in the NCR, manufacturers introduced petrol variants in almost every luxury car model. The sudden ban had led to a sharp drop in the NCR luxury car market as most vehicles were powered by diesel. Mercedes-Benz, biggest in this segment, introduced petrol variants across its models by September. Approximately, 600 luxury cars are sold every month in the NCR.

A Mercedes dealer in the NCR said a year ago, less than one-fifth of his sales were from petrol-driven cars. “In the past couple of months, 60 per cent of our sales are of petrol vehicles. The situation is similar across luxury car brands,” he said.

German brand Audi, too, has introduced petrol variants in many of its models. In August, it launched the Audi A6 Matrix in a petrol variant. It advanced the launch of the petrol Audi A4 to September from an earlier plan to launch it by the year-end. 

One of the factors that drove people to buy diesel cars was higher mileage along with the driving experience. This aspect is also being addressed by manufacturers. The Audi A4 petrol claims to offer 18 km/litre.

“We are witnessing significant shift in demand for petrol vehicles. Although Audi has petrol engines in the majority of its models, we are adjusting the mix to meet the petrol demand. We will ensure all our models sold in India will have both petrol and diesel options by next year,” a company spokesperson said.

The Supreme Court lifted the ban in August after manufacturers agreed to pay one per cent cess on the price of 2,000cc diesel cars. The ban had also forced Japanese automobile maker Toyota to introduce a petrol variant of its most sold SUV, Innova. However, this vehicle is yet to see significant traction among buyers.

“Last year, only 10 per cent of sales used to come from petrol. Buyers are confused by the uncertainty surrounding diesel vehicles,” said Gurmeet Singh Anand, managing director at AMP Group, sole dealership for Jaguar Land Rover in the NCR. Of the eight models being sold by Jaguar Land Rover, five are now available in petrol.

What happened after the ban

• Manufacturers introduced petrol variants in almost every luxury car model

• Mercedes-Benz, the biggest player, introduced petrol variants across  models by September

• Audi, too, has introduced petrol variants in many of its models

• A Mercedes dealer in the NCR said a year ago less than one-fifth of his sales were from petrol-driven cars and in the last couple of months, it went up to 60%