India's End-of-Life Vehicle Scrapping Programme Hits a Roadblock

India is on the cusp of one of the world's largest vehicle retirement programmes, with around 22 million end-of-life vehicles expected to be retired by 2030, generating nearly 7 million tonnes of automotive scrap every year. The country's third-largest automobile market adds over 20 million new vehicles annually. The government has spent the past five years putting the pieces in place, including licensing Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities, introducing digital certificates, and bringing manufacturers under Extended Producer Responsibility. However, the system remains in its infancy, with fewer than 3% of vehicles entering authorised scrapping facilities between 2022 and 2025. Despite this, the government says the policy is beginning to show results, with 394,000 vehicles scrapped by December 2025, including 165,000 government-owned and 239,000 private vehicles. Researchers argue that the environmental impact is not just about scrapping old vehicles, but about the energy and emissions consumed during the process and the overall footprint of replacing a vehicle. A modern scrapyard involves a complex process of dismantling, processing, and replacing parts, which has an environmental cost. The process typically consumes 500-2,000 megajoules of energy and emits 50-200 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent. However, recovering materials instead of producing them from virgin ores can avoid roughly 1 tonne of CO2 emissions.