Cars equipped with air purifiers become latest draw for buyers In metros

As major Indian cities grapple with worsening levels of air pollution, cars fitted with air purifiers are attracting attention from buyers, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET). On Thursday, the air quality index or AQI stood at 469, 353 and 157 in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, respectively.

With worsening levels of air quality, consumers prefer car variants fitted with air purifiers. Whereas Hyundai, Kia, and Tata Motors provide factory-fitted air purifiers in their cars, Maruti Suzuki presents them as an accessory to customers. The top two variants of the Kia's Seltos model feature an inbuilt air purifier generating as much as 77 per cent of Seltos' sales. Hyundai Motor India is garnering more than a fifth of sales of the Creta SUV model from variants equipped with air purifiers. The share is even higher in the Alcazar model at 87 per cent, whereas in the compact SUV Venue, it is at about 10 per cent.

Metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Pune, which have been affected by higher levels of air pollution, are witnessing a strong demand for air purifiers.

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Tata Motors stated that it has seen a surge in bookings for cars fitted with air purifiers in the Nexon EV, Harrier and Safari SUVs from metro cities.

Hardeep Singh Brar, vice-president and national head (sales and marketing) at Kia India, stated that the company has fitted air purifiers in the top two trims in the newly launched Seltos. Fifty per cent of the sales were coming from the top two trims prior to the launch of the new Seltos. Now, sales have risen up to 70 per cent. Given the high pollution levels, people have taken a keen interest in air purifiers, he added.

Several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) received light rainfall on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, but the city largely continues to struggle with "severe" air quality.

According to the data issued by the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR-India), AQI in Ashok Vihar was recorded at 462 (severe) on Friday morning, while the air quality in Punjabi Bagh was recorded at 460 (severe). At ITO, it was recorded at 464 (severe category).