Delhi-NCR’s booming vehicle population has made the region one of India’s largest consumers of petrol and diesel, with transport accounting for the vast majority of the country’s fuel use, official data shows.
A Ministry of Petroleum study finds the transport sector consumes nearly 99.6% of petrol and roughly 70% of diesel sold nationwide. Two-wheelers are the single largest petrol users, accounting for about 61.42% of total petrol consumption, while cars contribute 34.33% and three-wheelers 2.34%. “Out of every 100 litres of petrol sold, nearly 61 litres are used by two-wheelers,” the report notes.
Diesel consumption is dominated by commercial transport. Trucks alone account for 28.25% of diesel use, followed by private cars and SUVs at 13.15%, the agricultural sector at 13%, and buses at 9.55%. Railways use about 3.24% and three-wheelers 6.39%.
City-level figures underscore the heavy demand in Delhi. Fuel company data for 2016-17 shows Delhi consumed about 12.66 lakh kilolitres of petrol—the highest among major Indian cities—followed by Bengaluru (8.44 lakh kl) and Mumbai (7.56 lakh kl). Diesel consumption data indicates Delhi used around 13.77 million kilolitres, while Mumbai recorded about 11.1 million kl and Bengaluru 11.57 million kl.
Daily consumption in the national capital remains staggering: roughly 3,470 kilolitres of petrol and 3,770 kilolitres of diesel are used each day, totalling more than 7,000 kl of fuel. Analysts say this reflects the everyday movement of millions of commuters—cars, bikes, buses, taxis and goods carriers—across the Delhi-NCR region.
The government has rolled out measures to curb pollution and fuel use, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged greater public-transport use. Recent data from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC) for 2025-26 shows average daily petrol consumption per 100 people in India stands at about 10.4 litres.
Officials point to Delhi’s expanding metro network, restrictions on diesel vehicles and stricter pollution controls as reasons for relatively lower per-capita diesel consumption compared with several states. Still, with two-wheelers and commercial trucks driving much of fuel demand, policymakers say continued investment in public transport, electric mobility and stricter vehicle norms will be critical to rein in future growth in fuel consumption.
