Low Tyre Pressure Wastes ₹4,500 Crore Worth of Petrol Every Year in India: ATMA

India is estimated to be losing more than 42 crore litres of petrol worth over ₹4,500 crore every year because of underinflated tyres, according to a study by the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA), which highlighted low tyre pressure as one of the country's most overlooked vehicle maintenance issues.

The study, conducted by the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee (ITTAC), the technical arm of ATMA, found that a significant proportion of passenger vehicles on Indian roads are operating with tyre pressures below the recommended levels by manufacturers. 

The industry body was quoted as saying by PTI that this leads to unnecessary fuel consumption, higher operating costs and increased road safety risks.

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ATMA said tyre pressures on more than 1.3 lakh passenger vehicles, including two-wheelers, have been checked across the country over the past few years, with nearly one lakh tyres inspected during the last year alone.

According to the findings, 32 per cent of tyres were operating with air pressure more than 20 per cent below the recommended level, while another 21 per cent were between 10 per cent and 20 per cent below the prescribed pressure.

Drawing on international research, ATMA said that every one PSI reduction in tyre pressure lowers fuel efficiency by around 0.2 per cent. Based on the tyre pressure data collected during the survey, the association estimates that underinflated tyres account for fuel efficiency losses equivalent to about 0.75 per cent of India's total vehicle fuel consumption.

With India's annual petrol consumption estimated at 56.77 billion litres, almost all of which is used by passenger vehicles, including two-wheelers, the resulting fuel loss works out to approximately 42.57 crore litres each year. At current retail fuel prices, ATMA estimates the value of the wasted petrol to exceed ₹4,500 crore annually.

The association noted that this assessment covers only petrol consumption and excludes diesel, CNG and LPG-powered vehicles, suggesting that the overall national fuel loss linked to low tyre pressure is likely to be even higher.