Mercedes hopes for policy clarity on petrol by July

The luxury carmaker is hoping for clarity by then on the temporary ban imposed by Supreme Court on diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2,000 cc and above in NCR

India’s largest luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz will wait till July before ramping up supply of petrol variants of its vehicles.

Among the luxury carmakers, Mercedes was most affected from the ban on diesel vehicles with an engine capacity of 2,000cc and above in the national capital region (NCR).

“We are looking at ramping up diesel as a percentage of our total volume. We will take a decision in this regard after July. By then, we hope to get clarity on the 2,000cc diesel ban,” said Roland Folger, managing director and chief executive officer, Mercedes Benz India.

In July, the Supreme Court would hear a petition of carmakers seeking lifting of the ban. As of now, one of every five Mercs sold in the country is powered by petrol engine. The company’s NCR sales have declined ever since the diesel ban was imposed. The company has diverted petrol models from other markets in the country to NCR.

Folger said the company is losing opportunity every passing month and a decision on the petrol strategy needs to be taken soon. Executing such a move will take four-six months since the component supply chain will need to be ramped up accordingly.

“With diesel becoming less attractive, more and more buyers are looking at petrol variants,” he said.

The company said it would not shift to less powerful engines just to bypass the 2,000cc diesel engine ban. “There is no measurable difference in emission level of a 2,000cc and a 1,990cc vehicle,” Folger added.

He said the recent action from the National Green Tribunal in Kerala against diesel vehicles of 2,000cc ‘bothered’ him. The NGT ban on sales of diesel vehicles in Kerala was stayed by the high court.

Folger said keeping away 12,000-14,000 new diesel vehicles from roads will not make a difference to pollution scenario.

Mercedes on Thursday launched its GLC range of SUV in India. It comes in both petrol and diesel variants. Interestingly, Merc has priced both the variants at an identical price. While the diesel variant would cost Rs 50.70 lakh, the petrol one would come for Rs 50.90 lakh (ex-showroom, Pune). Folger said identical pricing was done to give customers a real choice, without influencing the performance and cost of purchase. The company hopes to get an insight into customers’ buying preferences through this.