Another factor that works in favour of diesel cars is its 'full-size' mileage, which falls easy on wallet.
The government has asked SIAM members, to provide fresh data which will provide an indication about the diesel vehicle demand in the country.
Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.
This is the third reduction in rates this month
Since end-May there has been volatility in the foreign exchange market.
The Maharashtra government has reduced sales tax on diesel from 34 per cent to 25 per cent.
The fall in international oil prices had resulted in six consecutive reduction in petrol prices since August and two in diesel in the last one month and there was possibility of another round of cuts this weekend.
State-owned Indian Oil Corp wants diesel prices to be freed from government control before its twin follow-on public offersto raise maximum funds, company Chairman B M Bansal said on Monday.
Buoyed by the peace initiatives between the two countries, Pakistan on Tuesday expressed willingness to import diesel from India.
Ahead of assembly polls in states like Rajasthan and Delhi, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said his ministry is mulling withdrawing the order that made it mandatory for state public transport utilities to buy diesel at market price.
Major carmakers like Maruti Suzuki and Honda did not have diesel technology and it is in the last 3-4 years that they invested in diesel vehicles owing to shift in demand towards such models
The decision to decrease VAT on diesel from 20 per cent to 12.5 per cent was taken at a cabinet meeting today presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
The company said despite the recession in global markets, it has invested over Euro 3 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) in 2009 particularly in developing technologies for the low- priced vehicles to improve fuel efficiency.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 248 on Saturday.
The government freed diesel pricing last October, providing a level playing field to private companies like Reliance and Essar Oil.
Oil Ministry felt it did not have a clear mandate to reduce rates post the January 2013 decision of the Cabinet to raise prices by 40-50 paisa a litre every month.
This is the fourth increase in auto fuel prices since May 1
Tata Motors will launch a diesel-powered version of its ultra-cheap Nano by the end of March 2014, its managing director said, hoping to kick-start demand for the model after years of disappointing sales.
Under-recovery or revenue loss on diesel has risen to Rs 10.48 per litre from Rs 9.99 a litre in the first fortnight of December, an official statement said in New Delhi.
The government on Monday hiked special additional excise duty on crude petroleum to Rs 7,100 per tonne with effect from August 15. In the last fortnightly review, windfall tax on domestically produced crude oil was set at Rs 4,250 per tonne.
"There is no immediate plan to decontrol diesel or LPG as they have cascading effect (on general prices)," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas R P N Singh told reporters in New Delhi.
Move likely to be rolled back atleast for state transport undertakings
'Chinese are going bang, bang, bang building 30-35 reactors.' 'We should announce a programme of 50 new reactors and show that we mean business on the ground and not just announcements.'
Generally, there is a price difference of around Rs 100,000 between petrol and diesel cars.
The surprise decision of OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to cut oil output may cause an immediate rise in prices, delaying revision in fuel prices in India, industry sources said. The grouping of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, called OPEC+, on Sunday decided to further cut oil output by around 1.16 million barrels. The move led to Brent rising by almost 6 per cent to $84.58 per barrel on Monday.
Officials from State-run refiners contend that savings from purchase of Russian oil are used to offset a part of the losses in revenues from selling transport fuels and LPG at State-set rates.
After a spike, losses on sale of diesel have fallen by nearly a rupee to Rs 2.49 per litre as international oil rates have moderated.
Diesel likely to get cheaper in New Delhi
Maruti Suzuki India has hiked prices of its diesel cars by up to Rs 10,000 with effect from Monday on account of higher input costs and appreciation of Japanese yen.
IOC said the movement of prices in the international oil market and INR-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely
DaimlerChrysler India, which has a jatropha bio-diesel programme in place, said it would test its cars using the alternate fuel in Leh and other regions of the Himalayas.
With the latest diesel price rise, coming after a rollback of most of the earlier proposals for a passenger fare increase, Indian Railways' operational surplus is expected to come down by 24 per cent, to Rs 11,707 crore (Rs 117.07 billion) in 2012-13 as against the Rs 15,557 crore (Rs 155.57 billion) anticipated at the beginning of the financial year.
Key infrastructure sectors -- from railways to power, and from coal to petroleum -- will not only be part of the achievements but promises too, as the BJP fights to get a third term at the Centre.
The movement of prices in the international oil market and rupee-USD exchange rate shall continue to be monitored closely and developing trends of the market will be reflected in future price changes
Almost one and a half year after tying up with Reliance Brands, a unit of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, Diesel opened its first store in Mumbai in April this year.
Petrol price had been cut 10 times since August 2014.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a December ruling that temporarily banned the sale of large diesel cars in New Delhi to combat toxic smog in India's capital.
Petrol now costs Rs 59.99 per litre as against Rs 59.03 a litre previously.
