Car manufacturers to Indian Govt: BAN all 15 year-old cars

In what may come as a shock to car enthusiasts in India, SIAM – a lobbying body of Indian car makers – has put forward a proposal that seeks to ban all vehicles that are older than 15 years.

What? But why!

Here are SIAM’s reasons for putting 15 year-old cars off Indian roads,

• The main aim of this is to reduce the pollution. India is among the most polluted countries in the world and SIAM is planning this as a step to curb pollution.
• Due to this ban, SIAM is hoping that more people will ditch older cars and move onto electric and hybrid vehicles, thus helping to conserve the environment.
• One more reason is the fact that if older cars are scrapped, new cars will be bought. This will help the market grow and will be good for the manufacturers.
• This will also be good for the ‘Make in India’ initiative.  More cars being sold means more production as well. So, manufacturing will get a boost, says SIAM.

But does this ban make sense to achieve these aims?

• India currently doesn’t have widespread infrastructure for electric vehicles. Unlike other countries where there is benefits and a lot of charging stations spread out, India doesn’t have that right now. We will have to improve that first before we want electric cars to become widespread.
• A major issue that which will be faced is the fact there are a lot of vintage cars in the country. This law will mean those vintage cars will now not be able to ply on our roads, which is not a good thing for us enthusiasts and car passionate people
• If the main aim is to reduce pollution, the government should work to improve the public transport. The main should be reduction in personal vehicles, so that the roads are less congested and automatically, the pollution levels will reduce.

Is it a backward step?

Across the globe, every developed country is bothered about pollution. Banning cars is not the answer though. People who have older cars that are well maintained will have to sadly let go of their priced possession only due to this law. Globally, there is a road worthiness test – like UK’s MOT – which takes place every year to see if the car meets all the desired norms. If the vehicle passes the test, you can continue to drive it. India needs a system like that to make sure people who have well maintained old cars can enjoy and cherish their vehicles.

Via NDTV