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Apex court directive on emissions may help a few cars in Indian market

The Supreme Court directive on vehicle manufacturers to meet pollution norms seems to have come as a blessing in disguise for Daewoo Motors India Limited.

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.

At a time when most manufacturers are worried about their future in the National Capital Region, DMIL, whose Matiz is the only small car which meets the Euro-2 norms, may have an edge over others once the the SC directive comes into effect, industry watchers said.

Rest of the vehicles from the company's stables -- Cielo and Nexia -- also conform to the norms.

''Among the small cars, Matiz meets both Euro-1 and Euro-2 norms, which makes it eligible to be out of the purview of the order. So there would be no cap on its sales in the National Capital Region,'' an analyst said.

Meanwhile, for the rest of the players, it is going to be a tough road ahead with sales in the entire NCR region being capped at 1,250 petrol vehicles and 250 diesel vehicles per month. ''this means that the entire NCR market would be limited to only 1,500 vehicles per month, which has to be divided between around a dozen players.''

The expert stated that under the Euro-1 norms, hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide emissions should not exceed 0.97 gms per km while carbon monoxide 2.72 gm/km and particulate matter should be just 0.14 gm/km. Under the Euro-2 norms, HC and NOX emissions should not exceed 0.5 gm/km and CO should not be more than 2.2 gm/km with no emission of particulate matter.

DMIL managing director S G Awasthi hailed the Supreme Court order terming it good for the industry. ''Automobile emission is a major social concern that needs to be addressed. The apex court's decision is in the interest of the people at large and lays stress on environment protection. Industry has to respond to such a situation.''

''The technology used in all Daewoo products in India and elsewhere is futuristic. All our products currently in the market -- Matiz, Cielo and Nexia -- meet the Euro-2 emission norms,'' he added.

Mercedes-Benz, with its E-Class, is the only other player to meet the Euro-II norms with its existing product.

While vehicles from the Maruti Udyog Limited, Hindustan Motors, Premier Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra stables do not even comply to the Euro-1 norms, Hyundai Santro, all vehicles from the Telco stable, Ford Escort, Opel Astra, Honda City and Fiat Uno meet the Euro-1 norms. These companies are now working vigorously to advance their dates of meeting the Euro-2 norms.

But till then, it is good news of Matiz, company sources said.

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