Maruti CNG car sales up by 23%; 62,996 units sold in 2014-15

Maruti Suzuki has announced that it has sold a total of 62,996 vehicles with factory-fitted CNG kits in FY 2014-15. This is a rise of 23% over the previous year. In FY 2013-14, CNG vehicles contributed to 4.9% of Maruti's total sales. In FY 2014-15, their contribution has increased to 5.4%.

Maruti's range of CNG cars includes the Alto, Alto K-10, Celerio, Wagon R, Eeco and Ertiga. All of these models feature regularly in the list of 20 best-selling cars of the month. In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where distribution infrastructure is in place and CNG for automobiles is easily available, almost 50% sales of Wagon R, Eeco and Ertiga are accounted for by the CNG variants. The CNG variants of the Alto K10 and Celerio were launched in FY 2014-15.

Maruti's CNG vehicles use the company's Intelligent Gas Port Injection (i-GPi) technology. The i-GPI works on Dual-ECU (Engine Control Unit) technology. Maruti claims that this system delivers the optimum amount of gas to the engine. The i-GPI technology uses separate injectors for each cylinder. Based on inputs from the ECU, optimum CNG quantity is injected to the engine through gas ports. The quantity of CNG required for different driving conditions is controlled by the dedicated ECU.

CNG is believed to be a cleaner fuel compared to petrol and diesel. However, the main reason people buy CNG cars is that the gas is cheaper to purchase than other automotive fuels.

All Maruti CNG vehicles are offered with a warranty and service support at 3,500 service stations across the country.