Will produce diesel cars as long as customers demand: Tata Motors

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Tata Motors Ltd on Thursday said it will continue to produce diesel cars as long as customers demand and regulations permit while it accelerates the shift towards electric vehicles.

“We have shown the biggest commitment to what the government wants i.e., EVs. It is unfortunate that people are asking questions on diesel and not asking manufacturers who are not moving to EVs but we are asking questions on what about diesel.

Forget that (diesel). That is in any case declining.

It will decline on its own,” Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the sport-utility vehicle Nexon.

The comments from the Mumbai-based automaker track road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari saying earlier this week that Indian automakers should voluntarily move away from “hazardous” fuel (that is diesel) or else the government may have to levy additional taxes to discourage sales of diesel vehicles. Gadkari, however, clarified later that there is no such proposal under “active consideration”.

Tata Motors, which sells a range of electric vehicles from small car Tiago to SUV Nexon, dominates the domestic EV industry with a market share of about 70%.

While Hyundai Motor India and MG Motor India also sell EVs, the first electric car from Maruti Suzuki, the country’s top carmaker, is only expected in the next financial year. Luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW also sell EVs in the country.