Due to rising fuel prices, buyers in India are now looking at alternate fuel options including CNG, hybrid and electric. While EVs are slowly gaining grounds, demand for CNG cars are at all-time high. In order to grab this opportunity, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors are working on more CNG models for the Indian market.
While Maruti Suzuki is preparing the CNG versions of the Brezza and the Alto K10, Tata Motors is testing the Nexon CNG on the roads. It is expected that the Brezza CNG will arrive before the Nexon EV, as the former’s variant details have already been leaked on the web. If reports are to be believed, the Maruti Brezza CNG variant will be offered in all 4 variants of the SUV namely, LXi, VXi, ZXi and ZXi+.
The Brezza CNG is expected to be offered by the same 1.5-litre petrol engine as the Ertiga. While powering the Ertiga CNG, the engine produces 92PS and 122Nm and is claimed to offer a fuel economy of 26.08km/kg. The CNG version is likely to be around Rs 90,000 expensive than their respective petrol variants. The Brezza petrol range is available in the price bracket of Rs 7.99 lakh to Rs 13.96 lakh.
Tata Motors is testing the Nexon CNG version on the Indian roads. If Tata launches the Nexon with CNG, then it will be the only SUV to be offered in petrol, diesel, electric and CNG powertrains. The ICE-version of the Nexon compact SUV is offered with two engine options – a 1.2L turbo petrol and a 1.5L turbo-diesel. Transmission choices include a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed AMT. The turbo-petrol engine is capable of producing 120bhp and 170Nm of torque. Though, the factory-fitted CNG kit is likely to drop its power output by 15bhp.
