Car sales & summer heat fuel petrol demand in April
Last Updated: May 01, 2024, 11:26:00 PM IST
Sales of petrol by state-run fuel retailers rose 12.3%, showed provisional data sourced from state-run companies. This is lower than the overall increase of 14% for the industry, indicating market share expansion for private players. Similarly, diesel sales by state-run companies fell 2.3% against an overall 1% rise for the industry in April. ATF and LPG sales by state-run companies expanded by 7% and 12%, respectively, in April.
NEW DELHI: Petrol consumption rose 13.8% year-on-year in April while diesel sales inched up barely 1%, according to provisional data published by the oil ministry.
Sales of aviation turbine fuel and liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG ) increased by 8.4% and 12%, respectively, in April.
Sales of petrol by state-run fuel retailers rose 12.3%, showed provisional data sourced from state-run companies.
This is lower than the overall increase of 14% for the industry, indicating market share expansion for private players.
Similarly, diesel sales by state-run companies fell 2.3% against an overall 1% rise for the industry in April.
ATF and LPG sales by state-run companies expanded by 7% and 12%, respectively, in April.
Robust vehicle sales and the arrival of summer have helped boost petrol demand.
Vast majority of passenger vehicles sold in India are currently petrol-powered.
Campaigning for the ongoing general election, which increases mobility, also contributes to higher demand.
Diesel is used mainly by long-haul transporters, farmers and miners.
Meanwhile, rising air traffic helped boost jet fuel consumption.
The Cabinet has approved a Rs 7,145.14 crore, 117.7-km access-controlled greenfield highway between Kanpur and Kabrai on NH-34 in Uttar Pradesh. The BOT toll project is designed to cut travel time from 3.5 hours to 1.5 hours, strengthen links to the Kabrai mining belt and Bundelkhand corridor, and lower logistics friction for freight, construction material and agricultural movement.
NHAI has launched Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling at Manoharpura Toll Plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur section of NH-48 in Rajasthan. The barrier-free FASTag and ANPR system matters because it cuts toll-stop idling on a busy highway corridor, but users now need proper FASTag balance and must clear any e-notice within 72 hours to avoid double charges.
India has reset windfall-linked export duties from July 1, 2026 by raising the levy on petrol exports to Rs 4 per litre while cutting diesel and aviation turbine fuel export duties to Rs 8.50 and Rs 7.50 per litre respectively. The move matters because it changes refining economics, export incentives and the downstream pressure points that can eventually shape domestic fuel availability, airline costs and broader transport pricing.
State-run oil companies cut the 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder price by Rs 183.50 from July 1, 2026 and reduced aviation turbine fuel by Rs 5 per litre to about Rs 110 in Delhi. The move offers relief to restaurants, hotels and airlines, but household LPG, petrol and diesel users are still waiting.
