Maruti to go greener in India with new CNG cars

Maruti Suzuki India, the largest car maker in the country, is all set to go greener in its domestic market with the launch of new CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) versions of some of its most popular cars in India including Maruti Alto, Maruti Wagon R and Maruti SX4 by the end of this year. At the time when almost all major car makers around the world are searching for ways to produce environment-friendly vehicles equipped with greener technologies, Maruti's move will be seen as a step ahead in this direction.

The new CNG versions of these popular cars will be rolled-out with factory fitted CNG-fired engines, unlike other petrol cars in India that come equipped with retro-fitted CNG kits. It is expected that the company will price these new CNG versions at a premium of up to 20 percent. According to Mr IV Rao, Maruti Suzuki's managing executive officer (engineering), the move of launching new CNG-run cars is company's answer to green technology that will also be the most fuel-efficient auto fuel in India, blending the benefits of gasoline engine power at the cost of CNG.

Mr Rao added that it would be the first time, the company is going to use factory-fitted computer controlled gas distribution system that will comprise of injectors to fire gas directly into engine eliminating any loss of power. The company will import these injectors from the US market in a bid to keep the cost of these new CNG-versions as low as possible. Maruti India has been using a domestically developed i-GPI (intelligent gas port injection) technology in its CNG versions that will enable the user to choose either petrol or CNG as fuel.

Most of the CNG-run cars in India come powered with venturi type CNG technology including Hyundai Accent, Chevrolet Spark and Toyota’s Innova. The venturi type CNG kit causes a power loss of about 15% when a user drives the car on CNG fuel.