Bengaluru pips Delhi in terms of highest number of private cars in India

The drop is due to the Supreme Court's decision in October 2018 to ban diesel vehicles of more than 10 years of age and petrol vehicles of more than 15 years of age in Delhi to cut down pollution

Bengaluru has overtaken Delhi as the city with the highest number of private cars in India.

According to the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2023, released by the state government last week, the number of private cars registered in Delhi stood at 2.071 million units as on March 31 last year, reflecting a 38.8 per cent drop since March 31, 2021.

The decline is a result of the Supreme Court’s decision in October 2018 to ban diesel vehicles aged more than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in Delhi to reduce pollution.

As on March 31 last year, 2.233 million private cars were registered in Bengaluru, which was a 7.1 per cent increase since March 31, 2021, according to the Karnataka Transport Department’s data released last year.

 

Source: Delhi Statistical Handbook 2023, Karnataka Transport Department

 

“During the period of 2021-22, the number of vehicles per thousand population in Delhi was 472, which was a drop from 655 in 2020-21 due to the scrapping policy of diesel and petrol vehicles,” stated the Delhi government’s Economic Survey 2022-23 that was released in March 2023.

“The total number of motor vehicles (including private cars) on roads in Delhi in 2022 was 7.918 million, showing a decrease of 35.38 per cent because the Delhi government has banned diesel vehicles of more than 10 years old and petrol vehicles of more than 15 years old. Hence, the Delhi government has deregistered 4.877 million vehicles till 2021-22,” it added.

Delhi has been witnessing poor air quality for several years, especially around Diwali and in the winter season, and consistently figures among the most polluted cities in the world.