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Maruti commences Euro-I vehicle production

Maruti Udyog Limited today commenced production of Euro-I compliant cars from its Gurgaon factory near Delhi even as the West Bengal government issued a notification stating that only vehicles conforming to the Euro norms would be sold and registered in the state beginning July 1, 1999.

Car-makers, particularly Maruti, have been caught by surprise by the notification of the state government today. The country's largest car-maker is now planning to step up production of its Euro-I compliant cars to meet the demand in this eastern Indian state, company sources said.

The company, presently, produces close to 1,350 vehicles per day of which 22 per cent are reserved for Euro-I vehicles. This would now be hiked by another 10-12 per cent to meet the demand in West Bengal, the sources added.

The West Bengal government today notified that only Euro-I cars would be sold in the state from July 1, 1999 and Euro-II cars from April 1, 2000.

''This has come as a surprise for us and we are now trying to meet this new demand,'' the MUL source added.

Hyundai Motor India Limited director (sales and marketing) B V R Subbu said, ''We have no problems as our cars are already Euro-I compliant. In fact, Hyundai would be launching its first Euro-II Santro in Calcutta this Friday.''

The company is presently selling close to 300 cars per month in the state, which accounts for about 5-6 per cent of its total sales in India.

The Delhi government had recently permitted unrestricted registration of six more passenger car models, including Zen-diesel, Maruti 800 and Armada as these vehicles comply to the mandatory Euro-I emission norms.

The specific models allowed registration by the transport department of the Delhi government were Zen-diesel, all three versions of Maruti 800 -- EX, Standard and Deluxe, and two versions of Mahindra and Mahindra's Armada.

Prior to this, the Delhi government had permitted registration of over 22 car models that comply with Euro-I emission norms. The models belong to around eight auto-makers.

It may be recalled that on April 29, the Supreme Court had said that only 250 diesel-run and 1,250 petrol-run non-commercial vehicles complying with Euro-I emission norms would be registered in the National Capital Region between June 1, 1999 and March 31, 2000. After March 31, vehicles would not be registered if they do not conform to the more stringent Euro-II norms.

However, the order was later changed to permit unlimited sales of non-commercial vehicles from June 1 provided they met the Euro-I norm.

All these manufacturers have furnished certificates regarding conformity to Euro-I norms.

UNI

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