Renault to stop selling diesel vehicles in India from next year

French auto major Renault Wednesday said it will stop selling diesel vehicles in India from next year when BS-VI emission norms kick in, following the footsteps of market leader Maruti Suzuki, citing tightening regulatory measures against the fuel globally.

The company, which made its global unveil of its compact multi-purpose vehicle Triber here in India, is bringing the vehicle only in petrol engine option as part of the strategy even as it prepares to introduce electric vehicles (EV) in the near future here.

"I think this is the strategy that we are going to follow," Groupe Renault Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bollor told reporters here in an interaction when asked if the company would stop selling diesel cars in India when the next emission norm kick in India from next year.

From April 1, 2020 India will implement the stricter Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norm across the country in all vehicle categories.

In April this year, car market leader Maruti Suzuki India had said it would stop selling diesel vehicles stating that the cost increase due to transition to BS-VI, specially for small diesel cars would make it unaffordable.

Asked about Renault's plans for diesel vehicles in India and whether the company would also go the Maruti Suzuki way, he said, "I believe so", adding "Triber has no diesel engine".

Globally, Bollor said many countries and even cities are going for greener fuels and regulations are made to discourage diesel.

"Today, there is a clear regulatory approach saying that diesel is not welcome. Even ICE (internal combustion engine) is not welcome in future in Europe as well. All regulations are designed to push the car industry towards EV or very refined powertrains, hydrogen or this type of clean mobility. That's the trend," he said.

"Let's see what is going to happen in India on that field," he added.

Bollor said Renault's diesel vehicle sales have decreased over a period of time and hence the company has decided to limit development of diesel engines.

"Diesel is naturally decreasing in terms of proportion of our sales. It is massive. it is not a sudden story. Since 2012 in Europe there has been a regular decrease of this proportion. After 2015, the drop was even more massive," he added.

When the company prepares for Euro 7, he said, "It will be just for people who need to drive very long distance, who are not driving in cities, or for LCVs, even for LCVs we believe it is very much going to be EV oriented (in future)."
Bollor further said, "For that reason, we are bringing Renault Triber, another breakthrough concept, targeted for India's core market...It is a real game-changer."