Times could not have been better for Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) neighbouring states to buy a luxury car at a price cheaper than popular SUVs like the Hyundai Creta and the Mahindra Scorpio N. While a 10-year diesel ban may be a nightmare for Delhi residents, for others, Diwali has certainly come in early. Making hay while the sun shines, a resident from Himachal Pradesh picked up an over Rs 50 lakh Land Rover for a mere Rs 8 lakh. 

The ban on diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years has been around for 10 years in Delhi and the NCR. What created a lot of confusion was the fuel ban on old cars, which is now on hold. 

The Land Rover Freelander: From luxury to throwaway price

You could say the Delhi diesel ban has turned the city’s car market into a real-life episode of ‘Deal or No Deal’, except here, every diesel owner is stuck with a briefcase full of lemons. While Delhiites are losing sleep over their suddenly worthless SUVs, Nitin Goyal from Himachal is living the dream, snapping up luxury diesel cars at prices that would make even a used premium hatchback blush. One man’s pollution problem is another man’s jackpot.

Speaking to NDTV, Goyal hit the double whammy as he bought a Rs 40 lakh Mercedes-Benz C-Class for just Rs 4.25 lakh and paid Rs 8 lakh for a Land Rover Freelander, which had an MRP tag of Rs 65 lakh. He said, “If you calculate the prices of both the vehicles, together their resale value is barely 10% of the MRP.” He further said, “The Mercedes and the Land Rover were in good condition, and other parts of the country are valid till 2028, but everyone knows that people in Delhi have no choice but to sell their cars at such throwaway prices. The major problem they have is that after 10 years, they can’t even keep the car parked in front of their houses.”

Understanding the Delhi diesel ban

In 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) introduced a policy that banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years from operating in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This rule, later upheld by the Supreme Court, aimed to combat the city’s severe air pollution by phasing out older, more polluting vehicles.

To enforce the fuel ban on older cars in Delhi, authorities installed automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras at over 350 fuel stations. These cameras scanned the number plates and identified old vehicles classified as ‘end of life’ (EoL). The policy affected approximately 62 lakh vehicles, creating widespread confusion and public anger.

Although the Delhi government recently rolled back the fuel ban due to technological challenges and public backlash, the move came too late for many vehicle owners who had already been forced to sell their cars at steep losses.