CNG vehicles have seen a rise with carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki offering models and Tata Motors slowly growing its presence. Today, CNG vehicles account for 8 to 10 percent of automotive sales in India, and this number is set to grow. Tata Motors says that the internal combustion engine is here to stay for a while in the form of CNG power.
“When we look at internal combustion engines, there are positives and negatives,” says Mohan Savarkar, the Vice President at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and the head for all ICE products. “A country like India struggles with petroleum bills because we pay in dollars, which puts pressure on our Forexs. However, CNG is one petroleum product available in good quantities in India.”
Savarkar recalls when a few years ago, natural gas was reserved for making fertilisers only. The situation has changed and the government is encouraging automakers to use CNG and this has made the supply chain and distribution of CNG more effective in the country. “The number of CNG outlets has grown steadily and currently there are around 5,500 outlets.”
“Running CNG cars is more economical compared to petrol or diesel vehicles as the cost per kilometre is much lower and the price of CNG in In dia continues to be regulated, meaning the government is also extending its support to encourage the use of CNG cars,” Savarkar adds.
Maruti Suzuki leads the CNG segment with numerous offerings, however, Tata Motors has thrown a curve ball with its CNG offerings. Instead of offering the CNG option with the base variants, the carmaker is offering it in multiple variants where customers can benefit from the same features offered with petrol cars.
In the process, Tata has also addressed a few pain points for customers when it comes to CNG cars and the biggest issue was the boot space as the CNG tanks rob that away. However, Tata’s innovative idea of splitting the CNG tanks and placing them under the regular boot has helped. The carmaker currently offers four CNG models — Tiago, Tigor, Altroz, and Punch.
Also, clearing the air on the safety front, Savarkar says that CNG cars are safer as the CNG tanks are much stronger than petrol tanks, and CNG has a much higher combustion temperature compared to petrol or diesel. Also, since CNG is a gas, it does disperses quickly rather than pooling up.
“On the safety front, we have taken various measures to ensure our cars are safe such as shutting down CNG if the car detects a problem. Also, our CNG cylinders are tested with water and Nitrogen at 240 bar and 340 bar, while we test them at 200 bar pressure before shipping out the cars. While CNG is being filled, the pressure is lower than 200 bar and we test them at a much higher pressure than what the cylinders will ever encounter,” says Savarkar.
He added that the plumbing for the CNG is also protected with added tubings which protect them if there’s luggage or anything else placed on them. “Adding all this together, from the chemistry point and physical aspects, CNG cars are safe and we have taken measures to keep our cars five-star rated, be it petrol or CNG,” he added.
