Centre asks Bosch, Cummins to offer retrofitting technology to convert old diesel vehicles
Synopsis
Alarmed by rising pollution levels, the Supreme Court has banned sale of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc and diesel taxis from operating in Delhi, causing a huge furore.
By Rajat Arora, ET Bureau
Last Updated:
NEW DELHI: Under fire from the Supreme Court for not finding solutions to vehicular pollution, the government has asked global automotive technology companies Bosch and Cummins to provide retrofitting technology to convert old diesel vehicles into electronic vehicles.
“There is an option to convert diesel vehicles into electric. We have asked technology companies to provide the solution. We’ll also ask the heavy industries ministry to incentivise people going for retrofitting under its National Electric Mobility Mission,” a senior government official told ET. Official of the road transport and highways ministry have also recently met senior Bosch and Cummins executives.
Alarmed by rising pollution levels, the Supreme Court has banned sale of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc and diesel taxis from operating in Delhi, causing a huge furore.
The government wants the more polluting BS II and BS III vehicles to be converted. It is already working on a voluntary vehicle fleet modernisation policy for four-wheelers older than 12 years for inter-ministerial consultation. The policy proposes giving a discount on new vehicles to those voluntary scrapping their vehicles older than 12 years. This would include a manufacturer discount and a rebate on excise duty.
The policy will cover both commercial and passenger vehicles and the government will give certificates of discounts to people who voluntarily scrap their old vehicles. Discounts can be availed by producing these certificates at the time of purchasing new vehicles. The government will also certify scrapyards for old vehicles.
The transport ministry is also coming out with a star rating sticker based on the fuel efficiency of cars. The government will make it mandatory for all car manufacturers to display tamper proof stickers mentioning the fuel efficiency rating of the vehicle. After government notifies the rules, every car dealer will have to prominently display the star rating.
The expected date of compliance of these norms is said to be April 2017. A formula for giving the rating is being worked out on the basis of quantity of fuel consumed by a car over a distance of 100 km.
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The transport ministry will form a vehicle retrofitting policy for old vehicles once the technology is made available in India. Such a conversion — voluntary, not mandatory — is expected to cost around Rs 1 lakh though it could be reduced with economies of scale. “There is an option to convert diesel vehicles into electric. We have asked technology companies to provide the solution. We’ll also ask the heavy industries ministry to incentivise people going for retrofitting under its National Electric Mobility Mission,” a senior government official told ET. Official of the road transport and highways ministry have also recently met senior Bosch and Cummins executives.
Alarmed by rising pollution levels, the Supreme Court has banned sale of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc and diesel taxis from operating in Delhi, causing a huge furore.
The government wants the more polluting BS II and BS III vehicles to be converted. It is already working on a voluntary vehicle fleet modernisation policy for four-wheelers older than 12 years for inter-ministerial consultation. The policy proposes giving a discount on new vehicles to those voluntary scrapping their vehicles older than 12 years. This would include a manufacturer discount and a rebate on excise duty.
The policy will cover both commercial and passenger vehicles and the government will give certificates of discounts to people who voluntarily scrap their old vehicles. Discounts can be availed by producing these certificates at the time of purchasing new vehicles. The government will also certify scrapyards for old vehicles.
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The transport ministry is also coming out with a star rating sticker based on the fuel efficiency of cars. The government will make it mandatory for all car manufacturers to display tamper proof stickers mentioning the fuel efficiency rating of the vehicle. After government notifies the rules, every car dealer will have to prominently display the star rating.
The expected date of compliance of these norms is said to be April 2017. A formula for giving the rating is being worked out on the basis of quantity of fuel consumed by a car over a distance of 100 km.
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
