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The Supreme Court order on cars in the capital

Delhi govt to ban registration of private diesel vehicles
It is also planning to extend by two years the deadline for converting all taxis and public transport buses to compressed natural gas or CNG-driven vehicles.

Maruti's Euro-fit Omni resurfaces in Delhi
The eco-friendly Omni's price in the National Capital Region would be Rs 7,000 more than the one without the Euro II tag.

Tata Indica declared Euro-II fit
The relevant technology has been developed indigenously at the company's engineering research centres in Pune and Jamshedpur.

Fuel, auto industries steer clear of solutions to emissions problem
The recent conference an automobile fuel technologies organised by the Tata Energy Research Institute in New Delhi threw up controversial subjects for debate.

Adopt green tech, govt tells oil and Euro-hit auto companies
'Global auto majors were expected to bring in the latest technologies that reduce emissions and bring about higher safety on the road. However, they had failed to do so,' Environment Minister Suresh Prabhu said.

Telco vehicles to be Euro-fit by April 2000
The company indicated at a possible hike in prices of all its passenger cars, including the Indica, as a result of the cost escalations incurred for making them Euro-II compliant.

Euro-hit auto industry hits back at critics, presses for clean fuel
Fuel quality standards are not keeping pace with the emission norms being stipulated by the authorities, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said.

Auto sales soar in May despite Euro-ban in the NCR
During May 1999, total passenger car sales stood at 47,578 units, up from 38,698 units in May 1998.

Hindustan Motors steps up drive to supply Euro-II cars
Company sources said the move follows the recent directive by the West Bengal government against registration of Euro-unfit cars after April, 2000.

Auto industry seeks freedom to select anti-smoke technology
'What does the government intend to impose, emission levels or catalytic convertors?' asked Venu Srinivasan, the new president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Bengal rejects Maruti's time plea for Euro-fit cars
Maruti's MD Bhaskaradu sought implementation of the Euro norms from October. But the West Bengal government has decided not to extend the July deadline.

West Bengal to allow sales of only euro-fit cars from July
The Euro-II emission norms would come into effect from April 1, 2000. The state government will not to permit more than 15-year-old taxis to ply in the city from January 1, 2001.

Maruti commences Euro-I vehicle production
The company makes 1,350 vehicles per day, 22 per cent of which are Euro-fit. This would now be hiked by 12 per cent to meet the demand in West Bengal.

Delhi lifts curbs on sale of Maruti, Mahindra and Ford vehicles
Prior to this, the Delhi government had permitted registration of over 22 car models that comply with Euro-I emission norms.

Maruti's Omni, Gypsy remain Euro-unfit, efforts on to make them Y2K-norms-compliant
'We are not in a hurry with these models as we have ample time. Besides, demand for these vehicles is not high. We expect to get the certificates for these soon,' MUL officials said.

Hyundai rolls out first Euro-II compliant Santro
Sales of the Euro-II Santro would be restricted to the National Capital Region for the time being while the demand in the rest of the nation would be serviced with the existing Euro-I compliant cars.

Delhi to ban dirty 2-wheelers, diesel buses, taxis
Conversion of private petrol-run vehicles to diesel would also be banned. The Delhi government would offer a ten per cent subsidy on purchase of CNG-run three-wheelers.

Tata group denies browbeating greens over car emissions
The Tata Group joins issue with Rediff columnist Darryl D'Monte over a newspaper column that it feels portrayed the Tata vehicles in poor light.

Maruti seeks registration of 3 models in NCR; sales likely to rise in May
The Supreme Court order and the resultant non-registration of cars in the NCR have had no effect on sales. Maruti had diverted vehicles to meet the growing demand in other parts of India.

India Vs the World
Car-makers discover a global game in the emissions row.

Hyundai allowed to register Santro in the NCR
Since Santro Standard and Santro GLS comply with the India Year 2000 norms, the Delhi government has allowed their unrestricted registration as private non-commercial vehicles.

Maruti, Hyundai missing from list of cars fit for registration in NCR
Should it be found in future, when official tests will be carried out, that the company-certified vehicles do not actually conform to the Euro norms, they may be de-registered.

Car chaos continues in Delhi; SC directives may be extended gradually to rest of India
"To begin with, they might be made mandatory where unleaded petrol is available," an official at the ministry of environment and forests has hinted.

Time for war against the dirty car
'It will be wrong to single out manufacturers as the only villains of the piece. Politicians and bureaucrats are guilty of `automobilising' society and polluting cities,' says Darryl D'Monte.

New cars still not being registered in Delhi
Sheila Dikshit's Delhi government is busy pleading with Sonia Gandhi to continue as Congress president. 'How can we register cars when our party is in a crisis?' said Delhi's transport minister Parvez Hashmi.

Maruti to restrict Euro-I cars to NCR
But the country's premier automaker said it would absorb the increase in production cost that will result from the modifications to be carried out to make its models Euro-I-compliant.

Hyundai raises Euro-II Santro price by Rs12,000
The board of directors also decided that all future products, including the next offering code-named LC, will meet the Euro-II emission norms from the time of their launch in the country.

Auto, Euro and Row
Veeresh Malik captures the mood and the mystique of the car-emissions controversy that has sent the automobile industry on an overdrive.

Maruti sews up technical strategy to overcome Euro hurdle
MUL would be able to make the carburetor modification to match the Euro-I norms within ten days. But to comply with Euro-II norms, MUL is actively considering importing multi-point fuel injection engines from Japanese engine firm Denso.

SC lifts restriction on registration of Euro-1-fit cars in Delhi
Finally, the choked auto sector in the National Capital Region got a "breather". The directive is also expected to make compressed natural gas-powered cars popular.

Tata Indica exports after meeting domestic demand; moves afoot to make it Euro-II-fit
Telco will, however, commence development of the export model and will seek to meet all the norms of the markets abroad. It has booked close to 115,000 orders for the Indica; 60,000 have been retained for supply till March 31, 2000.

Maruti to roll out Euro-fit cars by Oct; cleaner Hyundai Santro countrywide launch by June
MUL is likely to meet the norms by importing certain critical components and fitting them on to its vehicles, pushing up production cost -- and price -- by about Rs 30,000.

SC rejects car-makers' plea for extending Euro deadline
"Shall we give you breathing space to comply with regulations, or shall we worry about those who have to breathe with the help of cortizone?" The Supreme Court observed that vehicles assembled in India and exported to Europe conform to Euro II norms, but the same manufacturers sell inferior cars in India.

Kinetic nurses plan to launch 500 cc Euro-compliant mini car at Rs 100,000
Development work on the car has been stalled. ''The project is still at the prototype stage and no investments have been made. We are waiting for the excise relief,'' KEL chairman Arun H Firodia said.

Delhi government permits unrestricted sale of Daewoo cars
Various models made at the Surajpur plant in UP comply with Euro-I and Euro-II norms. Dealership traffic has suddenly risen by seven times, sales and demand are soaring, so the production has been stepped up, the company claimed.

Special bench may consider Centre's plea for modification
The government does not want to contest the SC order, but is seeking clarifications for evolving the modalities for implementing it.



Car-makers' body seeks govt intervention to resolve crisis
Car manufacturers have decided to chalk out the final strategy and the time schedule by when they would be able to meet the Euro norms on May 8.

Daewoo Motors hails SC order
The SC's decision lays stress on environment protection. Industry has to respond to such a situation, DMIL's MD S G Awasthi said.

Auto component makers seek review of Euro-2 deadline
If the Supreme Court order is not reversed or changed, the auto component industry, particularly units manufacturing engine components, would lose a lot of business, the ACMA said.

Maruti diverts Delhi-marked cars to other markets to maintain sales
''Although Maruti cars do not meet the Euro-1 norms, they are not among the polluting vehicles. In fact, it is the two-and three-wheelers that are the major source of pollution. But we respect the Apex Court's order,'' MUL officials said.

Telco estimates Rs 50,000 cost hike to meet Euro norms
''Although no dates can be given at present, we are confident of making our vehicles, including the Indica, meet the emission norms soon,'' company sources said.

Merc E-class is Euro-compliant, claims MBIL
The car not only keeps both fuel consumption and noxious emission values as low as possible, but provides optimal conditions for subsequent recycling of materials used, the company said.

Fiat to restrict Uno sales in Delhi, hike price by 1999-end, keep other models off India
''The court's decision has been sudden and we can not keep pace and change the engine overnight...It is not a toy. Our technology department is working hard and we are confident of making our cars Euro-compliant by the year-end,'' Fiat India's MD Gianni Ravina said.

Hyundai to make Santro Euro-compliant by June
The new anti-pollution equipment for engines is expected to push up the production cost by Rs 25,000. The company is yet to decide the extra cost that can be passed on to the customers.

Maruti top brass, govt seek to steer clear of panic: car cost may rise
Advancement of the date for compliance with Euro-1 norms to July 1, 1999 has ''created a situation where we are somewhat pressed for time. In that context, we are looking at all our options to ensure that we carry out our business as usual,'' MUL MD Bhaskarudu said.

Ford India not happy, but not to challenge SC's order
The approach to improving air quality should rather be technology-driven, the company MD Phil Spender said. He called for excise benefits and duty exemptions for car-makers who meet the Euro norms before April next.

Apex court directive on emissions may help a few cars in Indian market
The court order forces auto manufacturers in India to adopt Euro norms in the next 11 months as against the year 2005 notified by the Central government.

CII chief Rahul Bajaj lauds apex court directive on polluting cars
''Nobody can dispute the desire of the Supreme Court since 50 to 60 per cent of the pollution is emitted by vehicles. Dirty and old vehicles must be out. But do not stop new ones from hitting the roads," he said.

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