Fiscal FY2019-20, Indian market as far as CNG car sales is concerned, stood at 1,14,791. However FY2020-21, witnessed highest ever sales volume with a sales of 1,71,288 units, which is a 49.22 per cent sales growth.
As a result of the stellar sale of CNG cars and registering a 41.6 per cent increase on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, Maruti Suzuki with a sale of 148211 units also reported its highest-ever sales figure in FY2020-21.
The automaker, post discontinuing the diesel engines last year, shifted its focus onto CNG cars as an alternative.
CNG Figures Breaking Records
Currently for CNG cars, Hyundai is the only other manufacturer in India and the South Korean carmaker with a sales of 23077 units witnessed a 132.4 per cent growth compared to the fiscal year before which stood at 9930 units. As compared to the total share of 4 percent of CNG cars in the total car market, this fiscal saw the number improve to 6 percent.
Reasons Behind The Big Switch
The biggest impetus for people shifting to CNG cars comes from the increased cost of fuel. Buyers look for cheaper options as petrol and diesel prices skyrocket, and knight shining in the armour in this case is CNG-powered cars.
The Low cost of CNG coupled with higher fuel efficiency, backed with increased accessibility due to increased numbers of CNG filling stations. All of this make CNG cars a great choice for personal transport. Also, the number of CNG filling stations in India is expected to increase further in the coming years.
The reason behind the CNG push is also the fact that the diesel vehicles have become have become increasingly expensive.
Automakers in the light of BS6 emission norms are discontinuing their diesel-powered models. With Tata Motors deciding to only discontinue diesel engines on their entry-level models, other giants like Maruti Suzuki have decided to completely discontinue their oil-burners.