subject: Are Cng And Lpg Better Than Petrol And Diesel? [print this page] The prices of conventional fuels like petrol and diesel are getting costlier by the day. While the price of every other commodity increases, fuel prices too witness a hike and nothing much can be done about these perishable resources. Now, even the Indian government has decided to deregulate fuel prices. Meanwhile, the quest for alternate fuel resources continues. Car makers have begun drawing plans to introduce more models with CNG and LPG variants.
Indias largest selling car maker, Maruti Suzuki is looking at introducing to the Indian car market a swerve of new cars strapped with CNG kits. The car maker is believed to bring in five models with dual-fuel variants. So, we may soon witness the Alto and WagonR coming in CNG versions. So, while the Alto, new WagonR and Estilo will have the CNG option in the compact segment, the SX4 in the sedan segment will come with the CNG option and Eeco in the MPV category will flaunt the same.
GM, Toyota and Hyundai are a few others that flaunt CNG and LPG options in their cars. All these car makers are planning to expand further. Experts believe that with the surge in current fuel prices, usage of alternate fuels that have lower operating costs will grow stronger in the Indian car industry.
If petrol costs around Rs 3.44 per km, Rs 2.35 of diesel would be required to run the same distance. This is where alternate fuels have the upper hand. Petrol LPG would cost Rs 2.23 to run a km and just Rs 1.31 of petrol-CNG would let your car run the same distance.
It is good to know that consumers have growing less dependent on the conventional fuels. As of today, dual-fuel models contribute around 15-20 per cent of total sales. Experts believe that the pace at which people will shift towards these will soon grow faster.
As of now, General Motors offers LPG on its Chevy Spark, Optra and Aveo. With time, the number of models running on LPG is bound to increase. By the end of this year, GM plans to launch a LPG Chevy Beat too.
It is also clear by now that alternate fuels do possess a great potential. Maruti Suzuki, which has thought of offering CNG variants across its various segments of cars, is working on a new technology, i-GPI (Intelligent Gas Port Injection), for the dual-fuel engines and would offer CNG as factory-fitted option.
Have you ever wondered why we do not see the CNG variants on the road as often as the petrol and diesel cars? Heres the answer. On an average, a CNG car comes with a tag of Rs 45000-50000 higher than its petrol-only counterpart. On the other hand, the incremental cost for LPG is around Rs 20000-30000.
CNG and LPG kits can also be retrofitted on several models in the Indian car market. The Honda City, Toyota Corolla and Maruti Swift are three such models. It has been discovered that the only problem with a retrofitted model is that it can face problems on warranty. Most car makers refuse to take them within their fold. Car makers often put the blame of damages and accidents on the alterations done to the car while installing the CNG and LPG kits.
