Chennai: Maruti Suzuki’s CNG push will see the car market leader close FY21-22 with nearly quarter of a million units in CNG vehicle sales, up from 1.63 lakh units in FY20-21 and just over one lakh in FY19-20. With plans to increase its CNG portfolio beyond the current 9 models, Maruti, which sold 2.35 lakh units in the April 21 – February 22 period, is looking at a larger CNG share in the new financial year, said Shashank Srivastava, executive director (marketing & sales) at Maruti.
Maruti’s CNG sales were stagnant in the years before the pandemic. It went from one lakh units in FY18-19 to just 1.06 lakh units in FY19-20. But a combination of high fuel prices and more CNG stations has helped improve the tally. “In the next financial year, we will substantially increase our CNG portfolio by adding more models to the existing lineup and given the booking payments, we are looking at a strong increase in CNG sales in FY22-23 as well,” said Srivastava.
The demand for CNG vehicles is also playing out in terms of the waiting period. While the waiting period for petrol models is 6-7 weeks, for CNG models it is nearly double at 10-12 weeks, he added. Maruti’s total bookings for all fuel types currently is at 2.9 lakh units or 7-8 weeks production.
