The Supreme Court supports a phased ban on luxury petrol and diesel cars.

The Supreme Court of India has proposed a gradual ban on petrol and diesel powered luxury cars. This announcement has come out when the country is facing disastrous levels of pollution specifically in Delhi and NCR. However, the government has provided various schemes and benefits on the manufacturing of electric cars, still a large majority of luxury cars sold in India are ICE powered. 

Supreme Court on Ban of ICE Luxury Cars

Justice Surya Kant stated that despite luxury electric cars offering tons of benefits and value as compared to its petrol and diesel versions, buyers are still going for ICE vehicles. He also stated further that the proposed ban will not affect the common man in any way as only luxury petrol and diesel cars are subjected to this ban. 

The ultimate goal is to adopt electric transportation and make it a wider acceptance among the majority of people across diverse budgets and segments. 

Implications of this Ban

There are several luxury car brands which have electric cars on sale in India, but wealthy buyers usually skip high-performance EVs and go for traditional petrol and diesel powertrains. The implementation of this ban will result in a section of consumers exclusively choosing fully-electric. It will also put an abrupt stop to high-end manufacturers having an extensive lineup of ICE vehicles. 

Supreme Court Ban: When will it be Implemented?

Currently it is only under theoretical consideration, and there are only talks going on, as the Supreme Court has not fixed any deadlines for this ban. There are current discussions going on between various ministries in order to revisit the framework made under the current EV policies (like the National Mobility Mission Plan) are made and implemented. 

The detailed report which will be decoding all the apex court’s questions is expected from the government in December, until then fingers are crossed.