Rising fuel prices in India: Effects on car ownership & new purchases

Has the continued rise of fuel prices made you reassess your new car buying decision and/or impacted your overall car ownership experience?

BHPian shortbread recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Brent has now crossed $120/barrel and there isn't a respite in sight. Of course, there will continue to be fuel price fluctuations, but overall it is only headed in one direction and that is UP.

This would have had a big impact on most car buyers. In that case, has the continued rise of fuel prices made you reassess buying/owning cars? Please state your position and why so.

Kindly note this thread is neither for arguing the pros and cons of ICE or EV cars nor to gauge political opinions. The intention is to gauge how Team bhp members' car ownership/purchase decisions have been influenced (or not) by rising fuel prices. I feel this will be an excellent sample representation of how the Indian automotive market will change going forward. Thank you.

Appendix

• ICE - Internal combustion engine, cars powered purely by petroleum products
• EV - Electric vehicle/cars, cars running on battery power alone
• PHEV - Plug-in hybrid car, i.e. vehicles using electric motors and a combustion engine, operating either one or both when required. Albeit mass-market hybrids are at least 18-24 months away in our market.

Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

For as long as possible, my garage will always have a turbo-petrol as well as a turbo-diesel. I deeply love both engine types. Equally, I've also become a fan of fast EVs (the likes of Tesla / Taycan) and will surely add one to our garage in the future.

I am perhaps a rare example on the forum who hits the highway frequently but doesn't pay for fuel as all the test-drive cars come to us with a full tank of fuel. Regardless, fuel prices or low FE has never bothered me. I have cars in my blood & 100+ bucks / liter will never make me stop enjoying them. Cars are such a good passion to have, unlike say gambling or other addictions (e.g. alcohol).

Here's what BHPian ValarMorghulis had to say about the matter:

I have a petrol Venue SX+ DCT. My running is pretty low but I plan to increase it this year including trips exploring complete south India. Have started taking out the car for short trips more often.

Has the continued rise of fuel prices made me reassess owning the car?

Nope. A Rs.10 increase per litre will also make my pocket lighter by only Rs.450 (for a tankful) which is less than the cost of a medium-sized pizza.

Haven't changed my driving style which is pretty sedate by itself.

As of now, there is no EV in my sights or plan.

Here's what BHPian lamborghini had to say about the matter:

Not an immediate need to change but a future purchase would be an EV / Hybrid whenever it may be, just because it doesn't make sense to spend 20L for a new car to save 2K/month in extra fuel costs.

On the same note, my personal drive would mostly continue being petrol / diesel in the foreseeable future, justified by an ultra-low monthly run of 300-400kms & pre-owned purchase preference; though for the family / work cars I would look at EV / Hybrids if they meet our requirements of safety, space, usability, etc.

Here's what BHPian Eddy had to say about the matter:

I will continue to drive a regular ICE car for the next 2-3 years. That's when my current rides will become obsolete (one petrol, one diesel). Let's see what the situation is then, but I am not the one to experiment and become an early adopter so not sure if I will go the EV way.

Hence if I were to buy one today, it will be a petrol car only.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.