Vehicle Scrappage Policy: Inputs Sought

Buying automotive fuel is becoming unnerving day by day. Petrol and diesel prices have hit the roof. They scare away buyers from the mobility market. Automakers are compelled to develop new options to spare customers from an unrelenting government with incessant price hikes burning holes in every citizen’s pocket. Beside being cheaper, CNG prices are far more consistent than fluctuating petrol prices. Also, the average mileage of CNG vehicles is better than that of diesel/petrol driven vehicles. With safety issues raised,CNG tanks come with a tight seal, which reduces the possibility of explosion while refuelling or in the event of a spill. It could be the future as at present, millions of vehicles are already powered by natural gas throughout the world and more companies and municipalities are joining the CNG movement every day. Apart from being a clean fuel, CNG is economical also as it has zero lead and is non-corrosive, non-dilutive and non-contaminating. It also helps in increasing the life of the engine, and requires less regular maintenance. Overall, emissions are reduced considerably as compared to diesel. Putting cleaner vehicles on the roads is key to tackling one of the worst air pollution problems in the world. The toxic air costs the country as much as 8.5% of its gross domestic product, according to World Bank calculations, as well as shortening the lives of citizens. A lot of work has to be done in coming months to make this scrappage policy successful.A big hurdle is a lack of infrastructure to handle scrapping or recycling millions of vehicles. Unless and until we know what the carrot to scrap vehicles is, it’s difficult to say how beneficial the policy will be. Autoworkers face uncertain future in an era of electric cars - automakers face pressure to abandon internal combustion engines to fight climate change. The likelihood is growing that auto workers who for decades built machines that run on petroleum will need to do different work in the next decade - or they might not have jobs. As shift of making from internal combustion to electric power goes, jobs that now make pistons and fuel injectors will be supplanted by the assembly of battery packs and electric motors. For auto workers, that future could be perilous. Factories will need fewer workers, mainly because electric vehicles contain fewer moving parts than petroleum-run vehicles. In addition, many union jobs could shift to lower pay as automakers buy EV parts from supply companies or form separate ventures to build components. Most vulnerable in the transition will be workers at plants that make transmissions and engines for petrol and diesel vehicles.There are just less parts, so of course it stands to reason that there is going to be less labor. This could be the beginning of that transition - it's not going to be just in the vehicle space. The number of jobs lost will likely reach into the thousands, though no one knows precisely. And those losses will be made up, at least partly, by the green economy, from work building electric vehicle parts and charging stations to jobs created by wind and solar electricity generation. All internal combustion-related jobs will vanish is not likely. One can exclude heavier trucks in EV goal. And some manufacturers will keep making gas-electric hybrids. Every major industrial transformation has resulted in lost jobs and new work. Auto workers could be retrained to make electric parts and assemble EVs. more  

Agree completely. Today's commercial gains being made with tomorrow's environment, with responsibility now must be with makers of these automobiles. Kaushikk ji, that is true so they choose with their money their kind of vehicles. Also because environmentally benign vehicles would be costlier requiring technological research such as the one replacing carburettor with multipoint fuel injection system, that drastically cleaned up emissions. Now just name based perception drive the market. Nothing "sporty" in a SUV - sports utility vehicle, for example. But see their sales drive up through commercial positioning! Never mind the pollution. more  

Can someone answer a specific question - What are the quantities of CO2, CO and NOx in litres/kg produced when one litre each of petrol, diesel are consumed in a car? more  

Scrappage law takes the engine, components, chassis and the entire automobile as one, whereas every component or assembly unit within the system, may be replaced modularly, with new ones, extending vehicle's life. When so much metal goes into production of cars, then replace whatever needs replacing, and save resources. As Mr. Kishore has rightly said, "A poorly maintained new veh will pollute more than a well maintained old vehicle, age has no bearing on pollution. If the owner replaces the old engine with a new one at the end of 15 years the veh will not pollute." Policy needs tweaking, with ultimate aim in making vehicles safe while also being free from pollution. more  

The environment has to be kept clean and some sacrifice has to be done. more