Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has sold more than a million CNG vehicles now. The company is likely to launch the S-Presso CNG later this year and expand its CNG portfolio.
Maruti Suzuki says that it has seen a 15.5% CAGR increase in its CNG sales in the past five years. The Indo-Japanese automaker sold 1,06,443 CNG vehicles in FY2019-20 alone, making a new yearly sales record for itself. Factory-fitted Maruti CNG models currently include Alto, Eeco, WagonR, Super Carry, Tour S and Ertiga.
India’s leap to the BS-VI emission norms has made diesel engines way more expensive, so much so that Maruti Suzuki was left with no choice but to discontinue its diesel engines. For a company marketing its vehicles mainly based on low running costs, that’s a big problem. So, it is laying a stronger focus on CNG technology and plans to draw diesel model customers to CNG models now. It is expected to launch a number of new CNG models in the near future, the first of which will be the S-Presso CNG from Auto Expo 2020.
The Indian government is also giving CNG technology the much-needed impetus finally. As on 1 February 2020, 1,989 CNG stations were operational in India, spread across 21 states. On 8 September 2018, Dharmendra Pradhan, the national government’s Cabinet Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, had announced that there are plans to have about 10,000 CNG stations within a decade. On 26 August 2019, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas had said that the aim is to increase the share of natural gas in the energy mix from 6.2% to 15% by 2030. Maruti Suzuki sure is excited about these numbers.
Also Read: BS6 Maruti Super Carry CNG (S-CNG) mini-truck launched
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