Indian court lifts diesel ban in Delhi that carmakers said hurt demand

Mumbai

INDIA'S highest court allowed registration of large diesel vehicles in New Delhi while introducing a new levy on purchases, lifting a ban carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Mahindra & Mahindra panned for hurting demand.

A one per cent levy will have to be paid to register the vehicles in the national capital region of the country, reported BloombergQuint, a partnership between Bloomberg and Quintillion Media in India, citing the decision on Friday of the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Mahindra's executive director Pawan Goenka said the carmaker is "very relieved", while Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz rejected the levy's premise that its vehicles pollute the environment.