Auto companies want "One Country One Fuel" policy
Currently India has Bharat Stage III and IV in implementation, where BS IV norms are applicable in only 13 cities (7 more cities are still under consideration).
Officials from automobile manufacturing companies like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota, Ashok Leyland and Bajaj had a meeting with Mr CP Joshi, the Road transport and highways minister, to put an early end to this dual-norm policy.
According to the petroleum ministry, introduction of BS IV fuel across the country requires an investment of at least Rs.50,000 crores and hence not feasible at this point of time.
This forces manufacturers to run two separate assembly lines and hence there is an increase in the cost of production and delivery time. Auto manufacturers also mentioned that they are fully capable of introducing variants which are even Euro V and Euro VI compatible.
Currently the most affected is the commercial vehicle segment, which does not produce many BS IV variants, as they do not find many buyers for them. This move also forces customer to get their vehicles registered outside metro cities.
Once the rule is put into practice and high quality fuel is made available, companies would be able to produce similar set of vehicles for India as well as international markets.
[Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com]