Nissan Has Best Petrol Sales Penetration With 89% In H1 FY2018

Nissan sold 31,540 petrol cars as against 3,730 diesel models in first half of this financial year while Mahindra and Toyota stay in contrast

When you ask, a vast majority of potential new car buyers would put their money on diesel-engined vehicles a few years ago. It was mainly due to the better mileage and less cost-per-litre calculation compared to petrol cars. However, the scenario has drastically changed in recent past as the automobile market is largely being dominated by the sales of petrol vehicles.

You could have heard automakers making huge investments on increasing the production of diesel engines not too long ago but the environmental conscience towards electrification has led to strategic shift in future plans of car manufacturers. The trend is that petrol cars outsell diesels by 60 to 40 margin in overall sales.

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The 40 percent sale of diesel models can be attributed to the good reception for SUVs and crossovers. For instance, the largest SUV manufacturer in the country, Mahindra has almost its entire portfolio brimmed with different specifications of diesel engines. With the KUV100 having mFalcon G80 petrol engine spread across its range and the flagship XUV500 has just been treated with single G AT petrol variant, the result in selling volume was evident.

Only 4 percent of its total selling figure in the first half of this fiscal have been equipped with petrol engine courtesy of the KUV, as the big sellers Bolero and Scorpio have predominantly been diesel throughout their lifespan. The ratio between petrol and diesel car sales among the top brands in the business in H1 2018 would give us decisive information on the buyers’ preference.

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The two leading automakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have had 71:29 and 67:33 (petrol and diesel sales ratio) over the course of first six months of FY2017-18 respectively. The only company with a somewhat balanced ratio is Tata at 55:45. Nissan (and Datsun combined) has sold 31,540 units of petrol cars with the major share going to the Redi-Go. Among the prolific automakers, the Japanese brand endured 89 percent petrol vehicle sales with just 11 percent for its diesel models.

The Indian government’s 2030 EV mission along with National Green Tribunal’s ban on diesel cars aged above ten years in the NCR region as well as the oncoming shift to stringent BS-VI emission regulations by the end of this decade have prompted buyers to opt for petrol cars in increasing number. Moreover, the almost negligible price difference between petrol and diesel fuels would have been weighed up against the less cost of maintenance of petrol motors.