[Nishith]

Hello All,

I am currently on a look-out for ways to reduce my fuel expenses on our (2014) Maruti Celerio AMT or to replace it with an automatic transmission car that runs on lesser expensive fuels (CNG/LPG). This is primarily due to the high running cost of the petrol vehicle. We see an average running of 1,000KM – 1,300KM/month within city and this brings my fuel expenses close to 10K per-month.

After a test-drive of the Tata Nexon EV and Tata Tigor EV my heart is inclined towards getting the Nexon EV, as we have an on-gird solar set-up at home, leveraging this I can essentially run my car for free. However, following are the reasons I am holding myself back from getting it:-

• Extremely high upfront initial cost – Paying close to 17lakh OTR for a city use car seems too much for me.

• Uncertainty in the car’s maintenance expenses post the 8 year/1,60,000 KM warranty period, while tata executives claim that even if there is battery issue, only the cell that failed will be replaced and each cell costs approx.– 10K. But the speed at which the EV technology is evolving I am not sure if the spares for the current technology will even be available after 8 years.

• No idea about the re-sale value of the car if I intend to sell it in after the warranty period.

• Dad and wife might find it difficult to maneuver the Nexon in Bangalore’s congested road and traffic, as they are used to dimensions of a hatch back.

• A real-life range of 250KM makes it a strictly city use car (Yes, I am a few of those who prefers to have least breaks while on the highway).

• We own a Hyundai Accent that we are using for our highway drives. If I spend 17 lakh rupees on a city use car, the upgrade for the Accent is at least 5 years away and I will have to continue my highway runs in a car with no safety features and use a (5-star safety rated) car for my city runs (I would prefer the reverse combination).

Simultaneously, while I was exploring at more cost-effective ways to reduce my fuel expenses. I thought of getting an after market CNG/LPG kit fit in the Celerio (I don’t mind losing the boot-space as this is purely a city-use car). The installation of these kits from branded companies like Lovato would cost me around 50K to 60K, this made more financial sense as CNG costs around ₹55/kg in Bangalore and I am told I’ll get 7 to 10 additional kms/kg on CNG over petrol (this brings the running cost to ₹2.70/km on CNG, against the current running cost of ₹7.7/km on petrol).
However, while I was taking my service advisor’s opinion (from Mandovi motors) on this and he mentioned if I get an after-market CNG/LPG system fitted I cannot get my car serviced in any Maruti authorized service centers thereafter.

Additionally, I am not sure if I have to get in touch with the RTO for any updates on my car’s RC once I add the CNG/LPG kit.

Considering all these blockers, I started my hunt for a brand-new car with a factory fit CNG/LPG kit. That’s when I noticed, none of the manufactures offer Automatic transmission option in their CNG/LPG line up and this surprised me! There might be a considerable chunk of audience in the market looking for this combination. Even more surprising was the fact that I couldn’t find news about any new launches in this combination either.

I want to understand from the experts in this forum if this is a technical limitation in getting an Automatic option in CNG/LPG fuel or is it a strategy from the manufacturers to restrict automatic options only to Petrol & Diesel engines? (lets excluding EV’s as they are and will be available only in automatic transmission). In my understanding, considering the expertise Maruti has in CNG cars and Automatics. It is not a difficult task for them to get this option into production, but not sure why they aren’t.

Additionally, if anyone has installed a CNG/LPG kit on their automatic car looking for their suggestions/feedback (Pros & Cons) and guidance weather I should go for it or not, also about the RTO formalities involved to make this legal.

[raksrules]

Thanks for opening this thread. I had exact same questions and we booked a car for city use very recently (S-Presso) and I would have liked if it was available in AMT CNG. Maruti sells manual CNG version. Even when I checked, didn't find any manufacturer selling Automatic (any type) + CNG.

With a new car, I cannot put CNG else I will lose warranty immediately. Since we are new drivers, we are buying this car (didn't want to buy used) to get acquainted with driving and get ourselves familiar with road manners and everything else related to driving. We intend to change the car later (not sure timeline) to something better, finances permitting and I would like for it to be some other fuel which is not Petrol.

[Somz]

I also had the same question for which you opened the thread but personally I couldn't figure it out for not having factory fitted cng in automatic transmission. Factory fitted cng cars are available only in Maruti lineup & Hyundai. Need to beat this per km cost as fuel prices are rising exponentially.

[prajwalmr62]

Simply because most of the companies moved out of CNG game.

CNG prices have been increasing steadily and now it is just 20-25% less than petrol, making it less of an alternative each day. Add to the initial cost and maintenance, difference is negligible.


Also, CNG customers are a minority, and same goes to automatic customers. There's a tiny overlap with these two groups, which companies (MS and Hyundai) are not interested to fill-in.

[Everlearner]

From what ever knowledge I have gained online, there are no technical limitations, but the actual reason is

1. The automatic cars generally have lower pickup when compared to manual option except for DSG and other advanced dual clutch systems.

2. The CNG cars have lower pickup compared to petrol and diesel cars.

When both 1 and 2 are combined, we might be looking at seriously underperforming cars which may not sell in good numbers for manufacturers to invest in them, but it is still technically possible.

That said, I have read on this very forum itself about fitting a CNG kit in an automatic Honda civic. The bigger engine and a better transmission of the civic might have covered the shortfalls explained above.

I drive an automatic car and I'm very conscious of running costs. I was always hoping that some manufacturer will come up with this, but with the pace EVs are progressing, this will be a moot point in near future.

[GreyNomad]

A very pertinent question. I was in the hunt for an auto city car that’ll see a monthly running of ~2k kms. Not only aren’t there any autos, only MAruti and Hyundai make factory fitted cng cars. And the MS ones are absolute barebones! Hyundai has done a good job feature wise on the nios and a slightly less better job with the aura. Ended up booking the aura for the added space- both cabin and boot.
The general thinking of car companies in India seem to be that CNG car buyers are extremely cost conscious and hence wouldn’t want features. They don’t think of the minority who is value conscious.

[Nishith]

Thanks for the responses, seems like many in this forum did have this question. Now that we are sure there is no AMT car in the market with factory fit CNG or LPG kits, this takes us to the next option of "Fitting a CNG/LPG kit from a third party dealer."

Anyone in the forum who have installed a CNG/LPG kits in their AMT cars?

Looking for feedback if I go for it or not? and the RTO formalities to get it legalized.

I posed the same question to the dealers who fit these kits and got unsatisfactory responses such as:-

No RTO approval is required as no one would get to know about it. But me worry is, if there is some unforeseen incident like a flood or a fire, would the insurance company reject the claim stating this CNG addition as a reason as this won't reflect in the RC?

[youknowitbetter]

I think the issue is more so pertaining with the cost/on-road pricing. Typically, the CNG/LPG models are made more so for commercial cars (which are typically 1-2 gen old cars).. In case of private vehicles, the CNG as an option are offered on affordable range of cars wherein the customer is price sensitive. The factory fitted CNG/LPG cars cost little more than after market ones (and are already an additional cost for a petrol engine) thereby increasing the on-road pricing. Adding an AMT or an automatic transmission, will increase the cost further and may not result in significant sales for OEMs. This is also due to the fact that overall percentage share of factory fitted CNG/LPG cars compared to overall sales number is very small or maybe a fraction.

I don't suspect a technical reason as I have seen quite fancy and sophisticated automatics refuelling at CNG stations in Delhi.

[Nishith]

Is anyone aware of the RC endorsement process that is to be done if we fit an aftermarket kit ?

And should this be declared in the insurance as well?

[ashutoshb]

Wagon R Lxi - 4.93L
Wagon R Lxi CNG - 5.83L
Difference = 90k

Wagon R Vxi - 5.25L
Wagon R Vxi AGS - 5.75L
Difference = 50k

Assuming, Maruti keeps the same premium for a Wagon R equipped with both CNG and AGS, the total would be 1.4 lakhs.

So, a base Wagon R Lxi CNG AGS would be 6.33 lakhs, ex showroom.

(All prices ex showroom Delhi)

[prankey]

Get an Accord 2.4 Automatic and convert to CNG. Best upgrade and comfort while they cost less than half of these entry level cars!

[makaarandsaraf]

Hello Nishit,
I was in the same boat as you are now around a year ago. I was looking for a car for my wife in the Corona period and having never driven a car till age 47, i was advised by one of my friends to go for an automatic car which would make things easier for me. I then started looking for automatic cars since i also have issues with my left knee.
But I soon faced the problems that you are currently facing right now, there is no manufacturer who makes the cars with the Automatic CNG combination. Hence i started looking at the Pre Worshipped car market ( this made sense because I being a newbie, if the things did not go as desired, i would not face a major loss) and found that there are many cars which come with CNG kits fitted on their automatic transmission systems. Notable amongst these are Hyundai, Honda and Toyota cars and mostly these cars are ones with the torque converter (AT) transmission. A point worth noting here is that there are no cars in this combination with the AMT transmission. It maybe because of the extra lag in pickup of the system or the lack of smoothness in the gear shifts.

Anyways, i brought a Hyundai i10 last year which was already having a Lovato CNG kit fitted on an AT transmission (4 speed). It was yielding me around 22kms per kg on the CNG in the city and around 27kms on the highway. After getting myself trained and used to driving in the city as well as the highway, i sold it and purchased a Honda Amaze 2013 model with the same gear system (albeit 5 speed) but this time around i got the Lovato CNG kit fitted on the car aftermarket. This cost me around 50k including certification on the RC book.

For this car the RC transfer and the CNG kit certification was done at one go as the RTOs were not fully functional when i brought the car. On this i am getting around 18kms in the city and around 23kms on the highway. So from my experiences i can assure you wholeheartedly that you can dive in with the Torque Converter and CNG kit combination with your eyes closed. The difference in pickup in both the cars is virtually non existent with both petrol and CNG ,the Lovato guys do an excellent job. And from my conversations with the person in charge of their main centre in Mumbai there are.many cars which have the AMT transmission and which have been fitted with their CNG kits successfully. So you can speak to the Lovato guys in Bangalore.

I would suggest that if you haven't brought your new car yet then go for a used car with an AT transmission which has already been fitted with a CNG kit or get a used one and get the kit fitted yourself. You won't regret it. But get the car throughly examined by your local mechanic before taking the plunge. You can DM me for any further information. All the best

Originally Posted by Nishith

Is anyone aware of the RC endorsement process that is to be done if we fit an aftermarket kit ?

And should this be declared in the insurance as well?

You can get it endorsed by the people who fit the CNG kits, its included in the cost of the CNG kits. Go for known brands like Lovato or BRC, I have a very good experience with the Lovato guys. They get it done properly and there is no hassle for you.
Insurance wise also the CNG kit endorsement from the RTO is needed for claims if you happen to need it. All those who are telling you that there is no need, nobody will come to know are just trying to take you for a ride. Put in a personal message to me and I will help you out as much as possible.

[NowNew7]

Originally Posted by Nishith

Considering all these blockers, I started my hunt for a brand-new car with a factory fit CNG/LPG kit. That’s when I noticed, none of the manufactures offer Automatic transmission option in their CNG/LPG line up and this surprised me! There might be a considerable chunk of audience in the market looking for this combination. Even more surprising was the fact that I couldn’t find news about any new launches in this combination either.

3 years late but we have an answer now (Tata Tiago & Tigor CNG to get AMT option; bookings open)! Another coup after the "Safety as a key feature" and Mainstream EVs for Tatas!

[oli.ferns]

Originally Posted by NowNew7

3 years late but we have an answer now (Tata Tiago & Tigor CNG to get AMT option; bookings open)! Another coup after the "Safety as a key feature" and Mainstream EVs for Tatas!

do you think that there is a chance that we can get the recently showcased nexon turbo cng in automatic as well?

[NowNew7]

Originally Posted by oli.ferns

do you think that there is a chance that we can get the recently showcased nexon turbo cng in automatic as well?

Seems more hope than a given at this time if you look at articles like this one. But I would be really surprised if an AMT was not on the cards.

Nexon as the flagship for Tata Motors has all possible powertrain and transmission options(though admittedly just limited to AMT for automatic) available from them, so not unreasonable to expect an iCNG AMT Nexon sometime.