India’s diesel ban has forced JLR to come up with Discovery Sport’s petrol variant

The uncertainty over the future of diesel cars in India has affected the business of Tata Motors-owned JLR, which is why it has decided to introduce more petrol variants of its cars in the country.

The latest addition to this portfolio is the 2 litre petrol derivative of Land Rover Discovery Sport, which has been launched for a starting price of Rs 56.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

"The Discovery Sport petrol variant was not planned as early as this to be introduced in India. It was planned for later. So definitely, it does affect our plans," JLR India president Rohit Suri was quoted saying, when he was asked if their business plans were affected by the SC-imposed ban on diesel cars and SUVs of engine capacity of over 2,000 cc and above in the regions of Delhi-NCR.

Suri, however, said that the company had already started planning for petrol variants, because the Indian market was beginning to drift towards it from diesel, ever since as the price difference between the two fuels began to narrow.

He was also asked if JLR planned to speed up the launch of petrol variants of its different models, to which he said, "We are adapting our portfolio, not just because of the ban (on big diesel cars and SUVs) but also due to the increasing preference for petrol vehicles. We will do our best to address the demand."

Talking of the newly launched variant of the Discovery Sport, he said that this launch will help the premium SUV appeal more to the customers who like to drive vehicles with powerful petrol engines.

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