Nitin Gadkari asks carmakers to say bye to diesel, otherwise..

New Delhi: Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that the government will have no option but increase tax on diesel vehicles to limit their production.

Nitin Gadkari asked manufacturers to stop making diesel vehicles, otherwise the government will make their sales difficult by raising taxes.

At the 63rd Annual SIAM convention in the national capital, the Union minister said ‘Say goodbye to diesel... Please stop making them, otherwise we will just increase the tax so much that it would become difficult to sell diesel cars.’

Referring to reports about additional tax hike of 10%, he said there is currently no specific proposal about it.

‘ In line with our commitments to achieve Carbon Net Zero by 2070 and to reduce air pollution levels caused by hazardous fuels like diesel, as well as the rapid growth in automobile sales, it is imperative to actively embrace cleaner and greener alternative fuels. These fuels should be import substitutes, cost-effective, indigenous, and pollution-free,’ his post on X said.

Describing diesel a ‘hazardous fuel’, the minister said increasing demand for it led to heavy fuel imports.

However, he added that the number of diesel cars falling from 53 percent in 2014 to 18 today is a ‘good sign’.

He urged manufacturers to focus on environment-friendly fuels like ethanol and green hydrogen.

Maruti Suzuki and Honda have stopped making diesel passenger vehicles.