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Friday, 15 May 2009
Maruti Suzuki is planning to introduce CNG cars that will be BS-IV compliant in the small car and sedan segment. The company has taken this decision seeing the growing demand for cars that run on alternative fuels other than the conventional fuel. Maruti will source natural gas from the Reliance Industries and GAIL. As there are only few CNG stations available in India, the company along with the Reliance Industries and GAIL plans to create a strong network of CNG stations. Meanwhile, GAIL (Gas Authority of India) will expand the network covering over 80 percent of major cities in India. The process to scale up the number of CNG stations has already started which will be easily available in 40 cities by 2010 across the country. This will provide an easy access of CNG to the car owners and will also help increase the number of CNG car users. Not only Maruti Suzuki, many other car manufacturers also want to add CNG and LPG variants in their portfolio. But lack of easy availability of the fuel had discouraged them from launching these vehicles. However, the new development in this arena promises a green future for India as natural gases are light on environment and also give better mileage compared to petrol and diesel models. Labels: CNG-cars, Maruti-Suzuki, Small-Cars
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Scarcity of fossil fuels has left the car industry in grief. At the time when the global recession is mocking at the troubling economy, the issue of fuel deficiency around the globe is alarming the car industry of future cyclone. The fuel prices are fluctuating now and then. No one knows when the economy will get stable and so are the fuel prices. Once it regains its normal stage, the prices would definitely go high with extra burden on pockets. As a solution to this, many car manufacturers are rolling out cars that run on fuel other than conventional petrol or diesel. Manufacturer’s concern over fuel depletion has given birth to many new technologies that support the use of alternative fuels. To overcome the future trouble, the auto industry has invented alternatives like the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), CNG (compressed natural gas), hybrid cars, electric cars, bio-fuel (ethanol, bio-diesel), hydrogen-and air-powered cars. Among these, CNG and LPG cars are getting attention due to their low running cost. Also, these cars rejoice Government’s interest as they are light on environment. Therefore to take advantage of these, car manufactures are fast developing and introducing these cars in the car market. Car manufacturers like the Maruti, Tata, and Hyundai have already released CNG and LPG version of their car models. Now, General Motors is all set to add the LPG version of Chevrolet Spark and the CNG version of Chevrolet Aveo in its car portfolio. Both these cars presently doing good business in the Indian market and the new variants will definitely increase their market share. General Motors is gradually expanding its network in the country inspite of its troubled position in the home town. With a view to capture more consumers, it has also intelligently ventured into the used car business which has a great potential in the price conscious Indian market. Labels: CNG-cars, General Motors, Hybrid-Cars
Friday, 5 December 2008
Greener fuels like LPG and CNG are gradually gaining prominence in the car industry. Many car manufacturers have started implementing the use of these fuels in their respective car models. Many are still on track and heading towards a greener environment. Taking for example Hyundai that has already introduced greener fuels in its successful compact car, Hyundai Santro and a CNG version of Hyundai Accent. Moving a step further, the company also plans to launch LPG and CNG versions of its Getz. Even General Motors is persistently working to introduce green versions of all their car models. GM already has a CNG version of its Optra running successfully in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Vadodara where CNG is readily available. There are no plans to stop the production of the petrol and diesel versions but CNG and LPG versions will definitely be a better option in the Indian future. In line with Hyundai and General Motors, Mahindra-Renault also started dispatching the CNG versions of Logan, especially for the taxi market. In a city like Mumbai where Logan is adopted in huge numbers by a leading taxi service provider, Meru, CNG version may prove to be a blessing for both the taxi service provider and the car manufacturer. The initial additional cost of gas run vehicles and a weak network of gas-dispensing stations will prove to be a major deterrent in introducing these vehicles. But still there is nothing that can bring down the desire of these car companies to introduce greener fuels. This initiative is not only a profitable decision for them, but also for the betterment of human race. Labels: Car-Manufacturer, CNG-cars, General Motors
Friday, 3 October 2008
 Maruti Suzuki India is looking to introduce CNG variants in the compact car segment. Till date many LPG variants of Maruti cars have rolled out but now it mulls on the CNG-run variants. The current LPG variants in the Indian car market are WagonR, Omni and Maruti 800. Though the company has not decided a fixed timeframe to launch cars with this alternative fuel, you can expect them soon. Many Indian car manufacturers are mulling to introduce CNG variants of their car models but all are dependent on the infrastructure development. Like others, Maruti is also waiting to have a developed infrastructure in the country with respect to CNG dispensing stations network in the nation. Don’t you think that the time for developing the infrastructure to support CNG-run cars has come? If development is near, the CNG variants of Maruti car models are not far. Labels: CNG-cars, Indian-Car, LPG-Cars, Maruti-Suzuki-India
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Electric cars and CNG cars are the current wave in the automotive industry. The hike in fuel prices have definitely cut down the sale of petrol cars and increase the demand of CNG cars. Along with CNG, electric cars have also established a strong platform on the sands of Indian car market. Currently, we only have two electric cars, Reva Maini and Garuda. There are car manufacturers who are working on to produce electric versions of their various car models. But is it good to work on electric versions? Or CNG versions are preferable? During this era when the infrastructure is not so strong in the country, the industry will benefit more by producing CNG comply engines rather than wasting time to design purely electric engines. This is because India has a huge shortage of electricity. In the recent time, power cut has become a usual thing in most of the metro cities. Even today there are few villages in the country that live in dark the entire year. That’s shocking but that’s the truth. With such an infrastructure and shortage of power, how can electric cars win the car race? Yes, of course once the power shortage issue is solved, electric cars will top the race. But till then, CNG cars are better. Today, most of the gas pump stations provide CNG. It is one of the cheapest fuels with the lowest running costs. One kilogram of CNG costs about Rs 22 and the fuel gives a running cost of about Rs 1.3/km. This clearly dictates that one kg of CNG will run the car for one whole month. Then, what do you decide - Electric or CNG? Labels: Car-Fuel, CNG-cars, Electric-Cars
Monday, 30 June 2008
 When all car manufacturers are taking move towards making the environment greener, why should Fiat lack behind? The company is coming up with the CNG version of Palio model by 2009.
Both gas and diesel variant of the Palio hatchback are already present in the market. Increase fuel and raw material price is giving the industry a shock and to fight this crisis car manufacturers are taking different prop to maintain their market share. Many car makers like General Motors, Maruti, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai has turned towards CNG version. Well, it’s a delightful news for all Fiat lovers as they can own the car without spending much on fuel. Labels: CNG-cars, Fiat-Palio
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Desire for luxury is a desire for all! And now when luxury comes with green tag and cheap running cost, no one will like to keep themselves away from the tempting pie. The luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz has introduced its luxury sedan equipped with CNG-complaint engine.  CNG being the cheapest fuel is becoming the cynosure for the manufacturers as well as users. This has also inspired the company to come up with something innovative that can be a complete blend of comfort, luxury, performance and fuel efficiency. Trust, the new variant of Mercedes-Benz meets all the above. The company also has plans to launch its B class B170 NGT and the E 200 CNG sedans, already launched in the US and Europe. A long term plan of producing cars that ply on CNG technology is also banking on the company’s industrial platform. Even the affluent class people are affected with the increasing fuel prices. Any one will go for an option which provides luxuries for less cost price. CNG variant of Mercedes-Benz is definitely a good luxury choice. Labels: CNG-cars, Mercedes-Benz
Monday, 16 June 2008
 The recent hike in fuel prices has moved the car industry towards LPG and CNG. After the launch of Maruti 800Duo, General Motors is also switching over to the production of gas variants. Three of its models, Chevrolet Spark, Aveo U-VA and the Aveo are likely to hit the Indian roads with their LPG and CNG variants.
The launch date of these gas variants are not disclosed but are expected to be there in the upcoming year. Among the three launches, Spark LPG will be the first one to be seen in the showrooms. The CNG variant of the Chevrolet Optra has already been launched and is sold in Mumbai, Baroda and Delhi, the cities where the alternative fuel is easily available. This variant has received a halfhearted response but is expected to get buyers attention due to increase in fuel cost. Labels: CNG-cars, General-Motors
Friday, 13 June 2008
The recent unprecedented hike in fuel prices has increased the demand for CNG kits. Manufacturers and retailers of CNG in Delhi have reported a 100% increase in the number of cars owners switching over to CNG kit. The extraordinary spurt in the increasing demand of CNG is understandable but it has created a great chaos for the companies that fit these kits. They are attending countless phone calls and enquiries related to the fuel prices and conversion procedure. Cost price of CNG has recently dropped down from Rs 19.20 per kg to Rs 18.90 which eventually brings down the car running cost. Around 30,000 new cars are hitting the Indian roads every month and this increase in the number of cars will definitely reduce the availability of CNG. The government has to take in some action to improve the infrastructure and sort out the mess at the CNG stations. Labels: CNG-cars, Fuel-Prices
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