There have been multiple CNG car launches in India recently. From the Tata Tiago and Tigor to the latest CNG variants of the Baleno and Glanza. The hatchback segment has seen a rise in demand for CNG. Moreover, even the Tata Nexon and the Maruti Suzuki Brezza are expected to have their CNG variants in India soon! While this is currently restricted to a certain segment or a price bracket, does every manufacturer need to start making CNG cars? Let’s talk about this today!
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The need for CNG cars
In India, fuel efficiency is one of the topmost priorities for a huge chunk of car buyers. The fuel prices fluctuate as erratically as the Indian rainfall and more often than not, they only go up. This makes driving unreasonably expensive and CNG seems like a good way out, for now. No doubt, EVs are way cheaper to drive, but CNG cars are currently more reliable because they have a well-set infrastructure. Moreover, converting a regular petrol car to CNG is pretty convenient, it’s something that can be done in almost any city. Here’s how you can do it!
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Why CNG makes sense
Currently, CNG prices are at least 30% cheaper than petrol prices. This reduces your driving costs by a huge margin. You might say that a CNG car doesn’t perform as well as a regular petrol car, and you’re right! However, a CNG car user doesn’t care about performance as much as he does about efficiency. When compared to an EV, CNG currently makes more sense because there’s no range anxiety. Even if your car runs out of CNG, you can drive it on petrol until you reach the next CNG station. And a CNG station will probably not be as far away as an EV charging point.
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Should all manufacturers start making CNG cars?
Well, this is not something that depends on a manufacturer as much as it depends on the overall cost of your product. It is pretty evident that the more someone spends on a car, the less they care about efficiency. For example, someone looking for a Rs. 20 Lakhs plus car would not have fuel efficiency at the top of their requirements. They would value comfort, luxury, convenience, and performance much more than efficiency. However, buyers in the smaller, less-expensive segments, say under Rs. 15 Lakhs would prioritize efficiency more. Something else to consider here is that a CNG variant of a car is at least Rs. 60,000-80,000 costlier than a petrol variant. This is why the hatchback/sub-compact SUV segment becomes more favorable for CNG variants. Therefore, manufacturers looking to expand their audience in the under Rs. 15 Lakhs market can consider offering CNG cars as well.
Would you buy the CNG variant of an expensive car like the Jeep Compass? Let us know in the comments below!
Well, I must appreciate the writer team, you guys have exactly cracked the indian customer requirements. The bracket of sub 15 lakh is spot on. I am myself a Proud Owner of 2022 XL6 CNG ZETA.
Well, I must appreciate the writer team, you guys have exactly cracked the indian customer requirements. The bracket of sub 15 lakh is spot on. I am myself a Proud Owner of 2022 XL6 CNG ZETA, in my opinion it’s not only about FE but also about overall cost of ownership upon long term usage of for example 1 lakh kms or 6-7 year. I had a 2018 Duster with 70k odo reading and Its annual maintenance cost is more than 30k and as I also have a MS as 2nd car, I feel the diesel maintenance is too high in comparison to MS petrol engines. Secondly if you consider any similar size EV, for example Nexon You pay a hefty premium of about 5-8 lakh over in initial Buying Cost in addition to it after the above-mentioned long term usage, It is most likely that the Battery pack would require replacement so it cost another 6 to 8 lakh of reinvestment. Also range anxiety, lack of charging infrastructure and Indian Heavy monsoon usage anxiety etc are to be considered. Yes it has low maintenance but other negatives over power it.
In case of Petrol CNG, I paid approx 90k more against similiar Petrol variant. Also MS engines are known for Reliability, Smoothness, Low Maintenance, Good FE and Extra Large size are added advantages in XL6, It has negatives such as compromised Boot, bit under power but its manageable.
In total after looking to Overall Cost if ownership and Driving patterns CNG can be preferred and Recommended.
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