Registration of Vehicles After Being Retro-fitted with CNG Kits Rose by 15-20% in Delhi

Whatever the odds stacked against the odd-even scheme rolled out by the Delhi state government to curb air pollution, a positive fallout has been the rise in the instances of CNG conversions from petrol-engined cars in the capital city. Registration of vehicles after being retro-fitted with CNG kits rose by 15-20 percent during the recent implementation of phase II of the odd-even scheme with about 200 conversions to CNG witnessed against 150 reported on routine days, Anil Chhikara, auto expert and government official in the Transport Department, told Autocar Professional.

In terms of new sales of OE-fitted CNG vehicles, a major impact was not visible as this segment has been growing 20 percent annually for the past 2-3 years. About 150 registrations of factory fitted CNG cars are noted by the Transport Department on an average every day and these were more or less on track while the odd-even scheme was underway between 15-30 April as well. Hence the rise is more gradual and based on shifting customer preferences.

Interestingly, the front runners for the CNG retrofitment were small cars going upwards to the midsize segment with a sticker price of up to Rs 7 lakh where the Hyundai i10, Santro, Honda Jazz, Amaze and even the City were in the forefront. Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest carmaker, has a stable of 6 models available with a CNG option – the Alto, Alto K10, Celerio, Wagon R, Eeco and the Ertiga. These are already selling large CNG volumes in the capital. Maruti sold over 59,800 units of its CNG fleet in 2015-16 compared to 58,000 units in FY 2014-15. The Wagon R takes the lead with sales of over 29,000 units, followed by the Eeco with over 11,000 units.

Road Transport Emissions in Delhi

Meanwhile a tete-a-tete with the CNG retrofitters throws some more light on the CNG fitment scenario in the Delhi-NCR. The New Delhi-based Namdhari Auto Engineering Works retrofitted around 25-30 cars during the 15 days that the odd-even scheme ran. Ranjit Namdhari, owner of the fitment centre, says around 2,500-3,000 retrofitment instances were undertaken in the region during this period overall. The CNG kit costs Rs 30,000 upwards at his centre and takes about 5-6 hours for a CNG conversion from petrol.

Read the full article @ Auto Car Professionals