A complete shift from older fossil fuel-propelled vehicles to electric vehicles in 44 cities with a population of at least 10 lakh could help India save $106.6 billion on its oil import bill, which translates to ₹9.17 lakh crore in Indian currency at the current exchange rate. With this move, India could avoid 11.5 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions every day by 2035 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 61 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) also claimed that this move would save more than 51 billion litres of petrol and diesel. The study stated that the number of older vehicles in these 44 cities across India could grow from 49 lakh in 2024 to 75 lakh by 2030.

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The transport sector in India accounts for up to 24 per cent and 37 per cent in the winter season, to the ambient PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations of different Indian cities, respectively, according to TERI. Older vehicles are a major contributor to the air pollution in India's big cities.

The study found that older diesel buses emit the most pollutants into the environment among all vehicle types. The study points out that age restrictions on buses alone could help reduce 50 per cent of PM2.5 and 80 per cent of nitrogen oxide emissions by 2030. TERI has proposed a staggered plan to phase out about 1.14 crore vehicles between 2030 and 2035 and recommended either replacing all these with electric vehicles or adopting a combination of electric and CNG vehicles. The study pointed out that a complete shift to electric vehicles could avoid 11.5 tonnes of PM2.5 emissions every day by 2035 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 61 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

It could also create around 3.7 lakh new jobs in the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors, the study further pointed. It also said that more than 45,000 public electric vehicle charging stations and 130 vehicle scrapping facilities need to be set up in these 44 cities to enable this transition towards electric mobility.

If half of the older vehicles are converted to CNG instead, about 2,655 new CNG stations would be required, and the estimated job creation would drop to around 45,000, the research said.

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