Maruti Suzuki eyes 30% jump in CNG vehicles

New Delhi, Car maker leader Maruti Suzuki India is aiming to sell around 9 lakh CNG vehicles, a nearly 30 per cent increase in the ongoing fiscal, with demand for such automobiles rising in the wake of the West Asia war, according to a senior company official.The demand for CNG vehicles is no longer restricted to small cars and vans, but it has also seen a rise even in the company's SUVs, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Partho Banerjee told PTI."In the first quarter of this fiscal, we have sold 2.2 lakh units of CNG vehicles across models, which is a growth of 58 per cent over the same quarter last year," he said when asked about the traction of CNG vehicles currently in the market.Banerjee said due to the fuel price hike after the West Asia war, demand for CNG vehicles has shot up.Asked what the target for CNG vehicle sales this fiscal is, he said, considering how CNG vehicle sales have grown in the first quarter, for the full year we are targeting around 9 lakh units.Maruti Suzuki India currently sells 15 CNG models, including light commercial vehicles, in the domestic market.

In fiscal 2025-26, it sold more than 7 lakh units of CNG vehicles.The demand for CNG vehicles is no longer restricted to small cars, vans, and the utility vehicle Ertiga.

There is also a strong demand for CNG in SUVs as well, he noted."In case of our SUV Victorisv more than 50 per cent of sales are coming from the variant with 'underbody CNG' (tank)," Banerjee said, adding that considering that trend, the company has also introduced the same 'underbody CNG' in the newly launched fresh version of compact SUV Brezza.The company has equipped the new 'Brezza S-CNG' with the idle start-stop technology along with the new 6-speed manual transmission to deliver better fuel efficiency of 26.9 km/kg.Last month, the company had a 42 per cent contribution from CNG vehicles to its total sales. ...