Expected to further fuel demand for petrol cars in state
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: With the Centre revising the petrol rates across the country, Goa now has the enviable distinction of having virtually the same rate for petrol and diesel.
What is also significant is that the similar rates for petrol and diesel is expected to further fuel the demand for petrol cars in the state, which until recently struggled to compete in sales with diesel cars.
With the reduction of petrol prices by 70 paise per litre, the fuel rates in Vasco are petrol (Rs 59.00) and diesel (Rs 58.90), a difference of barely 10 paise. Vasco has the lowest fuel rates in the state as fuel storage tanks are located in the area.
According to sources, rates for petrol and diesel in petrol pumps near the Vasco storage tanks right up to Verna remain the lowest. The fuel rates then increase in other parts of the state due to transportation costs. As a result, the difference in petrol rates between Vasco and Polem, the village in Canacona which borders Karnataka, is nearly 50 paise per litre.
What is also interesting is that petrol prices vary in the same taluka. For instance, there is a nearly 20 paise difference in petrol rates between the petrol pump in Maditolop-Maxem (Rs 59.28) and the pump at Polem-Canacona (Rs 59.47) in the Canacona taluka.
Incidentally, this is the second time in less than a year when petrol rates have either been the same or cheaper than diesel. In May 10, 2013, Goa became the only state in the country where petrol (Rs 51.94) was cheaper than diesel (Rs 52.44).
Petrol rates have been the lowest in the country ever since the BJP-led government slashed VAT to 0.1 percent as part of its 2012 election manifesto.
The sharp drop in prices of petrol in Goa has led to a drastic decline in the demand for diesel cars in the state.
“The sales of diesel options in cars have drastically come down. Before the BJP-led government slashed VAT on petrol, there was a higher demand for diesel engines (60%) variants as opposed to petrol engines (40%), even though a diesel variant is about Rs 1 lakh more than the petrol variant,” said Goa Hyundai MD Prashant Joshi, who is also president of Goa
Automobiles Dealers Association.
“But now, it is the other way round. In fact with the lower petrol prices in Goa, the demand for diesel cars has dropped to about 20 per cent, while the demand for petrol cars has shot up to 80 per cent ,” said Prashant.
The increasing demand for petrol cars has also been attributed to a growing public perception that petrol is a cleaner fuel and is less adulterated than diesel, while petrol engines involve less maintenance costs than their diesel counterparts.
On the other hand, Paresh Joshi, president of the All Goa Petrol Pumps Association, suggested that the reduction in petrol prices by the state government could be a temporary phase.
“This facility provided to petrol vehicle users cannot be a permanent phenomenon as someone later may increase the petrol prices by fifty percent or may bring it on par with the national prices,” said Paresh, who is the elder brother of Prashant.
