Total automobile retail sales in India surged by 25.89 per cent year-on-year to 25,91,138 units in July, driven by GST rationalisation, ease of retail finance, and favourable festival timing, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). This marks the first time all vehicle categories recorded their best-ever July sales.
Petrol station dealers across Maharashtra went on a day-long strike, protesting alleged harassment by an agency authorised to check fuel quality.
The dealers, under the umbrella of Federation of Petroleum Dealers Association, said in a statement they also want access to fuel adulteration test kits, failing which they would resort to a shutdown on September 10 and 11.
Most CNG pumps, including those operated by Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), saw long queues from early morning, particularly of black-yellow taxis and autorickshaws, with several drivers reporting wait times of three to four hours, compared to the usual 15 to 30 minutes.
Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers' Association urged people not to panic-buy petrol or diesel, stating that 14 terminals in Tamil Nadu have enough stock to replenish 7,000-plus retail outlets as per their demand.
'There is no shortage of fuel whatsoever.' 'India is stock surplus as far as petrol and diesel are concerned.'
A major gas pipeline damage has disrupted CNG supply in Mumbai, leading to long queues at refuelling stations and affecting autorickshaws, taxis, and other CNG-run vehicles. The disruption is expected to impact transport availability throughout the day.
"There is a sharp jump that we have seen in bookings of EVs... The jump, at least in our case, in just two months, it is about 2 to 2.5 times of what it used to be"
The Delhi government has approved an ambitious electric vehicle policy that eliminates registration fees and road taxes for EVs priced up to Rs 30 lakh, offers a Rs 1 lakh incentive for purchasing new EVs while scrapping old vehicles, and mandates that only electric two-wheelers can be registered starting April 2028.
The Indian government has issued a stern warning to industrial users who are reportedly procuring cheaper retail fuel instead of industrial-grade fuel, leading to significant losses for state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) and potential local shortages. This diversion, driven by a substantial price difference between retail and bulk diesel, is adversely impacting OMCs, which are absorbing daily losses of approximately 550 crore to keep retail prices stable.
CNG dealers in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai region have threatened to go on strike from midnight of March 14 on the issue of dealer margin being given to them by the oil PSU's.
The decision was taken at a FAMPEDA meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, comprising of all district level functionaries of the Federation.
The commercial capital may face shortage of petrol and diesel from Tuesday if agitating transporters stop ferrying petroleum products.\n\n\n\n
While GST on ICE vehicles was brought down significantly, for electric cars it remained at 5 per cent.
Petrol pumps in the city are likely to go dry soon as dealers have decided not to buy fresh stock to protest high sales tax levied by the state government.
'The petrol lobby is very rich and strong.'
The strike is to protest against the state government's high level of sales tax.
Rural India outpaced urban centres in passenger vehicle sales in 2025, recording a growth of 12 per cent compared with 8 per cent in cities.
Petrol pumps in Mumbai, Nagpur and other parts of the state witnessed long queues on Tuesday as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel amid the protest by truck drivers.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora appealed on to petrol pump operators on Wednesday to call off their proposed two-day strike from April 13 saying their main demand of raising commission on sale of petrol and diesel will be considered.
About 2,000 petrol pumps, mostly in western and northern India, have run out of fuel stocks as the strike by some truckers' associations entered the second day on Tuesday.
The state has not touched diesel prices, fearing losing revenue to neighbouring states
Dealers are not happy with the company's latest retailing policy and decided not to re-open their pumps.
Drivers of commercial vehicles, including trucks and tankers, stopped work in several states on Monday and blocked roads at some places to protest against the provision in the new penal law regarding hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.
Facing difficulties in daily operations due to constant increase of fuel prices by oil marketing companies, the Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers' Association have threatened to go on a one-day strike.
Petrol pumps in many cities witnessed long queues on Tuesday as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel amid the protest by truck drivers against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.
Goods transporters and petrol dealers association in Maharashtra claimed on Wednesday that they were being denied fuel at petrol pumps which could impact prices of commodities. "Our vehicles across the state are getting only about 70 per cent of the fuel and as a result of which they are being delayed (to reach destinations)," Prakash Gavali, president of the Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tankers Bus Vahtuk Mahasangh, which represents transporters, said.
After premium petrol, the price of normal petrol has also crossed Rs 100 per litre in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district.
With no immediate solution in sight, over 2,500 petrol pumps in West Bengal remained closed on Tuesday following a three-day strike.
To promote cashless transactions, the government had waived the Merchant Discount Rate on fuel purchase post demonetisation for consumers. But after the expiry of the 50-day window, the banks have decided to levy MDR on petrol pump owners.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the new timing of the price change was agreeable to the dealers and so daily price revision will be implemented from June 16
'We are seeing one of the highest discounts in recent years across companies.' 'October is a crucial month with several festivals coming up.'
The dealers are protesting against the use of petrol pumps for government campaigns and seeking of personal data of over a million people working there
'There exists a 'brotherhood' of sorts for a very long time and corrupt dealers and corrupt OMC officials are in it together,' Ashwani Attrish, founder, Empowering Petroleum Dealers Foundation, tells Sudhir Bisht, a veteran of the petroleum industry.
However, the company has not provided a timeline for the launch of the small electric car.
Since May 1, the dynamic fuel pricing model has been applied on a pilot basis in 5 cities
This rule came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to conserve oil in 'Man Ki Baat'
Safety standards are thrown to the wind as government urges consumers to use mobile wallets at petrol pumps, Shine Jacob & Karan Choudhury/Business Standard report from New Delhi.
As oil marketing companies (OMCs) stare at huge under-recoveries, India is facing fuel shortage across the country with states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Haryana being the worst hit. The under-recoveries suffered by OMCs are around Rs 20-25 a litre for diesel and Rs 14-18 a litre for petrol, said sources. Government and state-run companies denied reports of any crisis or supply-side issues on the availability of fuel.
Dealer-operated petrol pumps across the country would be open for business as usual on Wednesday, even as officers of state-owned oil companies plan to strike work.
