EV troubles, expensive fuel fire up sales of CNG cars in India
One of the reasons for the demand is the less operating cost. Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director of the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, said that as long as petrol prices stay in the range of 105 and 110, the cost of running a CNG vehicle will be at least 40-50% cheaper.
The demand for passenger cars that run on compressed natural gas (CNG) is rising up in India as skyrocketing petrol and diesel prices and teething troubles in the electric vehicle segment make them a suitable option for buyers of entry-level cars. Domestic sales of CNG personal passenger vehicles in April has more than doubled to 27,000 units from a year earlier.
One of the reasons for the rising demand is the less operating cost. Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director of the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, said that as long as petrol prices stay in the range of 105 and 110, the cost of running a CNG vehicle will be at least 40-50% cheaper.
“The running cost of CNG works out to 2.1 per km, while petrol works out to ₹5 per km,” Srivastava said.
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Maruti Suzuki leads in CNG passenger vehicle sales with its popular models Wagon R, Eeco and Dzire.
Experts said that the sales of CNG-powered passenger vehicles could have been significantly higher if the supply of semiconductors was not affected.
Tata Motors anticipates CNG cars to account for up to 20% of its total sales over the next three to five years. The auto major, which launched CNG-powered cars this January, will concentrate on the hatchback and compact sedan segments for expansion of its CNG model range.