Delhi move on cars unfair, people will buy more vehicles: SIAM

'Petrol cars, which constitute the majority, do not contribute to the 2.5 PM emissions as petrol used in the country is of higher quality.'

Auto industry body SIAM on Wednesday said it is unfair to single out cars for pollution as their share in vehicular emissions is only around 10 per cent, adding that Delhi government's move to curb car use may lead to more vehicle ownership.

"I don't think it is fair to single out cars for air pollution. Out of the overall vehicular emissions, cars contribute only around 10 per cent, while two-wheelers contribute around 40 per cent and the rest is by public transport and trucks. If so, why single out cars and car owners?" Sugato Sen, director general,Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said.

He added that petrol cars, which constitute the majority, do not contribute to the 2.5 PM emissions as petrol used in the country is of higher quality.

To a question on whether the Delhi government's plan to introduce odd-even number plate scheme from next month on a pilot basis will lead to a fall in sales, Sen said he does not think so.

"I don't think the Delhi government move will lead to fall in sales. On the contrary, I feel this will lead to more car ownership as those who have even-number cars will go and buy a new car get it registered with an odd number and vice versa," Sen said.

After air pollution level touched record highs in Delhi in recent weeks, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government has decided to limit car usage in the city by allowing only odd numbers to ply on days with odd dates (and even numbered cars on other days) between 8 A.M. to 8 P.M.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to admit a PIL seeking a directive to the government not to go ahead with the proposal, saying this is only a pilot project and therefore it is too early to take a call on it.

Meanwhile, SAIM said BS VI implementation by FY22 looks unrealistic, while it welcomed government move to implement BS V emission norms by 2019.

"We are happy that our recommendations to advance the BS V timeline to 2019 has been accepted by the government," SIAM president Vinod Dasari said in a statement, adding the BS VI norms can be advanced to 2023 by compressing technology development time by one year.

Any further advancement of BS VI norms will neither be technically possible nor advisable due to the extensive testing and validation of the technologies.

Upgradation to BS V norms would reduce pollution levels from four-wheeler industry by 80 per cent in terms of particulate matter of diameter 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5) for heavy commercial vehicles and 90 per cent for passenger cars, he said.