Recently, I drove the latest offering from Tata Motors, the Nexon iCNG. As the name clearly suggests, it runs on Compressed Natural Gas. It is a unique vehicle, as for the first time in India, a carmaker has fitted it with a turbocharged engine option.
A turbocharger, which works by forcing more fuel-air mixture, or in this case more CNG into the combustion chamber, allows even a smaller capacity engine to generate more power. This makes the Nexon iCNG quite engaging to drive, unlike the typical vehicle that runs on CNG, where the power is reduced due to gas being less energy-dense than petrol.
Most importantly, this vehicle was an indicator of innovation in the CNG space. CNG vehicles are no fun to drive compared to their petrol—or even diesel-powered brethren. Their power loss means that you are constantly mashing the gearbox to get the vehicle moving. The turbocharger reduces that power loss to a great extent, and I enjoyed driving the Nexon iCNG.
Tata Motors’ other innovation, a ‘Twin Tank’ system, which uses two smaller CNG tanks instead of the one large tank fitted on most other vehicles, made luggage space in the boot usable. However, that meant the spare wheel was mounted underneath.
But thanks to the lower cost of CNG, and the increasing availability of it across India, gas power is becoming a larger and larger factor for Indian car sales. It is estimated that for Maruti-Suzuki, vehicles equipped with CNG account for almost a third of their new vehicle sales. Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM) Chief Commercial Officer, Vivek Srivatsa, said that CNG-equipped vehicles accounted for 21 per cent of their sales in the first half (April-September) of the current financial year. “CNG has emerged as one of the most accessible and cost-effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions in the short term, effectively bridging the gap while electric vehicle adoption continues to grow,” he said.
In fact, almost a third of all smaller vehicles sold by Tata Motors are of the CNG variant. “The contribution of CNG variants to our overall passenger vehicle sales in H1 FY25 has been on an upward trajectory across our portfolio when compared to the same period last year. CNG variants now account for 30 per cent of Altroz sales, over 35 per cent of Punch sales, over 22 per cent of Tiago sales, and over 48 per cent of Tigor sales. This growth underscores the increasing demand and success of our iCNG offerings across the range,” Srivatsa said.
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A cost-effective alternative
It is the cost-effectiveness of CNG that makes it so popular. And CNG vehicles are all ‘dual-mode’, which means that with the flick of a switch, they can start running on petrol. It ensures that despite the limited range of such vehicles on CNG alone, there is no range anxiety.
The Nexon iCNG’s twin tanks can store around nine kilograms of gas and with Tata Motors’ claimed range of 24 kilometers per kilogram, the Nexon iCNG should manage around 200 kilometers on gas alone. More than good enough for a few days of commuting to work and back.
Sure, CNG vehicles have a slightly higher price, usually less than a lakh premium over a similar-specified petrol-only vehicle, but the cost differential can be made up in a few years of operation. Current prices of CNG are around Rs 76.59 per kg, this gives a cost per kilometre of Rs 3.5; a Nexon running on petrol would cost anywhere from Rs 5-6 per kilometre.
And without any range concerns and a lower initial price, CNG scores over electric vehicles. This is despite electric vehicles being even cheaper to run at around Rs 1.5 per kilometre. Using public chargers can be a lot more expensive, but the operating price differential is minimal in my experience.
CNG sales are also being pushed by the central government, gas is cheaper to import than crude petroleum. In February, India renegotiated and extended their natural gas deal with Qatar with a new $78 billion deal. It is established policy that India wants natural gas, which is being imported in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) form and domestically extracted, to account for 15 per cent of all energy needs by 2030. Several LNG terminals have been built across India’s western coast, most notably the Petronet LNG terminal in Dahej, Gujarat where the LNG is offloaded and regasified for transportation across the country. Residents of several major cities across India understand this well, as piped gas is increasingly replacing the traditional LPG cylinder at home.
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Possible road bumps
This is not to say that there are no issues with CNG. Anyone who has been stuck at a CNG station for 20-30 minutes waiting for a refill knows this. Filling petrol or diesel is usually a five-minute job, and once tanked up, drivers are good for at least 500 kilometres. But gas is a tedious process. Especially considering there are only 6000-odd CNG stations in the country, a fraction of the approximately 65,000 petrol pumps. There is a programme to triple the number of CNG stations across the country but with the rapidly increasing fleet of CNG vehicles, especially commercial vehicles such as taxis, this might not be enough.
And like it or not, imported gas is expensive. India does produce a lot of natural gas domestically, but much of that is diverted to the fertiliser and energy sectors. Recent reports have indicated that due to supply cuts of domestic gas to city gas distribution systems, prices at CNG stations could increase anywhere from Rs 4-6 per kg.
And therein lies the rub, if petrol prices come down, as they might very soon, gas prices go up and electric vehicles become even more affordable thanks to technological developments and crashing prices of raw materials such as Lithium, what will it mean for CNG in the long run?
Sure, CNG vehicles can operate every day if cities like Delhi-NCT implement the illogical odd-even rule again, but that is hardly a use-case to buy CNG vehicles if their operating costs go up. If the government really wants natural gas to account for 15 per cent of India’s energy needs by 2030, personal transportation will play a key role, and costs will have to be managed. Maybe a duty cut is imminent.
@kushanmitra is an automotive journalist based in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)