Demand for greener cars shoots up

As the price of conventional fuels like diesel and petrol is shooting up, the demand for the alternative fuels like CNG (compressed natural gas) and LPG ( liquefied petroleum gas) is growing day by day. Since last few months, there has been a significant increase in the number of buyers who are opting for CNG/LPG variants of the popular cars in India. Car dealerships in India are now flooded with customer inquiries related to the availability of the CNG/LPG version of their popular cars.

The market for the CNG kits is currently poised at 4000-5000 kits per month which is expected to be doubled in the coming 2-3 months due to the recent petrol price hike by the government. In the national capital, CNG is about 27 per cent cheaper than diesel and about 56 per cent cheaper than petrol.

Keeping a strong eye on the rising demand for the CNG run cars, the India's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has also decided to launch the CNG variants of its popular cars including Maruti Alto, Maruti Wagon R, Maruti A-Star and Maruti Zen Estilo. The new CNG version 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 Rao, 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.

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