Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, stated that the company sold 4.77 lakh CNG vehicles
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CNG car sales in India have been on a upstick growth for a while now. The demand for CNG vehicles remains strong, fueled by the promise of lower ownership costs, especially as petrol and diesel prices stay high. Bullish by the demand, the leading Indian carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India has set itself the target of achieving six lakh CNG vehicle sales by the end of financial year 2024-25.
As per the Vahaan report, in the first half of calendar year 2024, sales of CNG passenger vehicles grew by 34 per cent year-on-year with sales of 242,289 units between January 2024 and June 2024. Maruti Suzuki claims to have witnessed 30 per cent YoY increase in CNG sales in FY25 till date as compared to the same period last year.
In a recent press conference, Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki India Limited, stated that the company sold 4.77 lakh CNG vehicles in FY24. Meanwhile as of FY25, till date, the company has sold 2.21 lakh CNG cars. averaging one out of three cars sold to be CNG. The top selling CNG vehicle for Maruti Suzuki is the Ertiga CNG which contributes to about 63 per cent of total CNG sales for the company.
Also Read : Maruti Suzuki CNG models contribute over one third of total sales. Check details
Eyeing the target of six lakh CNG sales for the current financial year, Maruti Suzuki launched the Swift S CNG. The company claims that with a mileage of 32.85 km/kg, the Maruti Suzuki Swift S-CNG is the most fuel efficient car in its segment.
Interestingly, the Swift S-CNG also becomes the first vehicle from the company to feature CNG fuel type with the new Z-Series three cylinder engine. With the new engine, Maruti Suzuki claims that the Swift S-CNG has got 3 per cent more torque as compared to the older model.
Will the Swift S-CNG aid the growth required?
Banerjee pointed out that with the previous generation Swift CNG, the company saw 15 per cent of the total Swift sales coming from the CNG models. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that the company has been getting a good number of enquiries for the current gen Swift S-CNG. However, even with the demand, Banerjee explained that Maruti Suzuki Swift S-CNG may command just over 15 per cent of total Swift sales.
He added that a Swift customer is generally looking for a spirited drive sort of experience, which a petrol powertrain can offer better than a CNG engine option. Meanwhile a typical CNG customer is considering the total cost of ownership when purchasing a vehicle.
Also watch: 2024 Maruti Suzuki Swift: Pros and cons explained
However with the number of inquiries, Banerjee predicts that the Swift S-CNG might contribute slightly upward of 15 per cent of the total Swift sales. Launched back in May 2024, the fourth generation Maruti Suzuki has achieved sales of 67,000 units since its launch.
Focusing beyond just products
While the new Swift S-CNG is another step to achieve the target for Maruti, Banerjee believes that as the CNG ecosystem penetration increases, there will be a natural growth in the CNG vehicle sales. He pointed out that while the top five markets for CNG, which includes Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi contribute to about 70 per cent of total CNG sales for Maruti Suzuki, states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana contribute 21 per cent. “If I add the top ten cities in this market it is more than 90 per cent,” Banerjee explained. Interestingly, 58 per cent of the CNG stations are present only in the top five markets.
He explained that CNG sales can further go up as the city gas distribution companies are setting up their gas stations across other sates. While the numbers are increasing, but it is more to do with the infrastructure that will aid the growth, he added.
Also Read : Maruti Suzuki aims significant hike in export numbers by 2030
Maruti Suzuki’s head of marketing and sales noted that with expansion into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, the company sees significant opportunities and anticipates strong demand for CNG vehicles from these areas. Interestingly, states like Punjab, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra are also witnessing an uptake of CNG stations, and the company believes that these markets are also going to have a major play in the CNG market.
While CNG is one part of the market, Maruti Suzuki believes that to stay ahead of the market and continue to lead the market, it needs to be technologically agnostic. Banerjee explained that every technology will co-exist be it electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles. “We need to operate and offer to all sets of customers, so we will be having a play in the EV, strong hybrid, CNG, and then in time to come flex fuel and even in the CBG also,” he added.
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First Published Date: 12 Sep 2024, 13:50 PM IST
