Diesel consumption fell 9 per cent in Delhi in 2024-25 while increasing 5 per cent in Maharashtra and 9 per cent in Chhattisgarh, reflecting divergent trends across states, with economic activity, rains, regulatory curbs, alternative energy supplies and the fading popularity of diesel cars all weighing on sales.
Delhi’s diesel consumption has been heavily influenced by a rapid shift away from diesel vehicles to petrol, CNG and electric vehicles over the past decade. Diesel sales in the capital in 2024-25 were down 63 per cent from their peak in 2015-16, according to petroleum and natural gas ministry data.
Increasing air pollution, which stretches for months in winter and restricts the movement of diesel-powered vehicles as well as factory and construction activity in the National Capital Region, has also helped drive down fuel consumption. Neighbouring Haryana witnessed a barely 0.26 per cent growth in diesel consumption, while Punjab and Himachal Pradesh registered a decline of 3.5 per cent and 1 per cent , respectively.
In the last financial year, state oil companies rationalised intra-state freight, lowering pump prices at many locations that traditionally had higher rates due to their greater distance from fuel depots. This, in some cases, made those pumps more attractive for consumers, shifting some sales from adjoining states, said an industry executive, explaining the decline in diesel sales in Punjab.
Three southern states-Andhra Pradesh (-3.5 per cent ), Karnataka (-1 per cent ) and Telangana (-0.6 per cent )-witnessed a decline, while Tamil Nadu (0.9 per cent ) and Kerala (0.25 per cent ) registered marginal increase in sales. An increase in value-added tax by Karnataka, the third-largest diesel consumer in the country, may have weighed on the state’s sales last year, the executive said.
Uttar Pradesh, the largest diesel consumer among states, witnessed a 3 per cent increase in consumption in 2024-25, above the national average of 2 per cent . The Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj last year, which drew millions of devotees from across the country for a holy dip in the Ganges, helped push up diesel consumption. UP accounts for about 11 per cent of total national diesel consumption.
Maharashtra, the second-largest consumer of diesel, witnessed a 5.3 per cent increase in sales, while Madhya Pradesh clocked a 5.5 per cent rise and Rajasthan 5.8 per cent . Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, which have large mining operations, registered 9 per cent and 7 per cent diesel sales growth, respectively.
