Forty per cent of the cars sold in the country are now powered by diesel. The fact that it is 40 per cent cheaper than petrol is the obvious reason. But now diesel has a company — CNG or compressed natural gas which is also witnessing sizeable growth. About 6 per cent of all cars sold in 2010-11 were CNG powered, against 1-2 per cent in 2008. Last fiscal, 4 lakh CNG kits were sold in India. According to a study by market research and information analysis firm, RNCOS, the CNG kit market stood at Rs 1,600 crore last year, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of around 22 per cent to Rs 3,000 crore by 2014. A large number of buyers, who, hitherto, shelled out Rs 65.64 for a litre of petrol are now opting for CNG. A survey conducted by Indraprastha Gas last year pointed out that around 5,000 vehicle owners switch over to CNG every month in the NCR alone. “About 25 per cent of the 100-110 cars sold per month are CNG-fitted,” says a Delhi-based Maruti dealer. The company saw sales of 5,000 CNG-fitted cars a month in 2011, up from 1,000 per month in 2010. “You will be surprised to know that in New Delhi, forty per cent of the WagonR sold have CNG kits,” says Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer (marketing and sales) at Maruti Suzuki. It has pushed demand for CNG in the region to 12 to 15 per cent a year. “You will find a similar ratio in Gujarat (like NCR). In Mumbai, it is less because the availability (of CNG) was an issue, but it is going up now,” adds Pareek. It sold an average of 76,100 CNG-fitted cars per month during April-December of 2011. Maruti realised the potential of CNG in August 2010; now it offers factory-fitted CNG kits in five of its models: Alto, Estilo, Eeco, WagonR and SX4. “We are marketing it more and communicating it to customers aggressively,” says Pareek. MAYANK PAREEK, Managing Executive Officer, Maruti Suzuki Our five models have factory-fitted CNG kits : Alto, Estilo, Eeco, WagonR and SX4 (BW Pic By Sanjay Sakaria) CNG Catches A Spark Other car makers such as Hyundai, General Motors (GM), Toyota and Tata Motors are following suit. “We have seen a steady growth in the sales of our CNG cars,” says Arvind Saxena, director, sales and marketing of Hyundai Motor India. The number two auto player started offering CNG options in 2007 and now offers it for Santro, i10, and Accent models for an additional Rs 60,000. A round-up of Hyundai dealers shows that over 20 per cent of Santros and i10s sold in New Delhi are CNG-fitted. “We sell close to 200 units of i10 and 100 units of Santro each month; almost 60 run on CNG,” says a south Delhi-based dealer. GM offers CNG kits across its range, barring only two cars — Cruze, a diesel sedan; and Captiva, an SUV. “Out of total monthly sales of 250 cars, 30-40 are CNG variants,” says a GM dealer. Apart from hybrid technologies, CNG is also the cleanest fuel available in the market as CO2 emissions are 20 per cent lower than emitted by a conventional petrol vehicle. The environment-friendly fuel lightens the buyer’s pocket by Rs 45,000 to Rs 60,000 at a car dealership, however this cost goes down by half at a non-dealer vendor. But Is Still Not On Fire Car-makers battled a host of issues pertaining to CNG vehicles including poor pick-up and loss of power which were taken care of by improvement in technology but poor infrastructure still restrains its mass usage. Vishnu Mathur, director general of auto industry body — Siam — believes that the future availability of CNG is a major issue. “Consumers are attracted to CNG due to its lower price. If the gas is available at domestic rates, it is good. But if it is imported, the price is likely to rise, thus reducing the appeal of the fuel,” he says. He adds that the auto industry needs clarity on fuel policy and its pricing from the government to be able to tap consumer sentiment. Mathur’s words explain the vulnerability of the auto industry to the fluctuating demand for different fuel types, while also exposing the industry’s fear of the government changing its stance on CNG just like diesel.