With increasing demand for its CNG vehicles coupled with rising prices of petrol and diesel, the country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India will be offering CNG fuel option in four more new models very soon. PTI quoted a senior official as saying that the company plans to increase its CNG portfolio through this.
The company, which is planning to launch an electric vehicle (EV) in the Indian market by 2025. The company is currently monitoring the country’s EV ecosystem and finding out what is the best way to provide hassle-free charging infrastructure for electric cars.
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), told PTI, “At present we have eight models with CNG option out of our total 14 models, but we will be adding to this portfolio very soon. We are planning to add four more models.”
Going forward, he said, “we will try to develop more and introduce more CNG models.” However, Srivastava declined to give details and timeline for introducing the new CNG model.
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Srivastava said, “The hike in petrol and diesel prices has spurred demand for CNG vehicles and out of the company’s total pending orders of 2.8 lakh units, due to semiconductor shortage, 1.1 lakh orders are for CNG models. The cost is so different now that a petrol or diesel vehicle is three times more expensive than driving a CNG vehicle. I think this is one of the reasons why people suddenly switch to CNG.”
In addition, the network of CNG filling outlets has expanded across the country over the years, making CNG fuel accessible to more vehicle owners.
“Now, we have around 3,400 (CNG outlets), which now cover around 260 cities, while a few years ago it was around 1,500 stations covering only 150 cities,” he said.
The availability of factory fitted CNG options has also helped fuel the demand for vehicles that remove the earlier apprehensions regarding performance, maintenance and safety of the customers.
Commenting on the company’s plans to launch the EV, he said that as announced earlier it will happen by 2025, but did not share further details.
With the challenges of tackling the issues of affordable EVs, charging infrastructure and range on the way to mass adoption of electric mobility in India, Srivastava said that MSIL is keeping a close watch on it.
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