“We plan to launch more vehicles with CNG option”

“The five models with CNG option launched by Maruti Suzuki have been received well by customers in areas where the fuel is available. We plan to launch more vehicles with the CNG option,” Maruti Suzuki India chairman R C Bhargava said in its Sustainability Report for 2010-11. Nevertheless, he did not provide further details on what models will be selected and when the company is likely to roll out the eco-friendly variants.

Bhargava also considered that the auto industry requires backing from the government to make vehicles with eco-friendly alternate fuel options a success.  “Government support is required to make CNG available across the country. Adequate CNG needs to be allocated for automotive use,” he added, as reported by Press Trust Of India news agency.

“The Company developed in-house i-GPI (Integrated Gas Port Injection) Technology and launched factory-fitted CNG variants for five of its models: Alto, WagonR, Eeco, Estilo and SX4. This i-GPI technology delivers higher fuel efficiency compared to conventional CNG cars. The Company believes that once CNG availability improves across the country, it could become a popular option owing to its low cost and environment friendliness” (an extract from Maruti Suzuki’s Annual Report 2010-11).