Besides, registrations in 2023-24 has also surpassed the pre-Covid levels of 2019-20 for both Mumbai and Maharashtra.
Public policy (transportation) analyst Paresh Rawal said, “CNG is a non-renewable source of energy, but comparatively much cleaner than petroleum products. The rise in sales of vehicles can be attributed to various reasons. One is, easily accessible infrastructure of CNG refuelling stations in the city and on highways. Another reason is that company-fitted CNG tanks in newer car models occupy much less boot space and provide a petrol-equivalent thrust to the car. All these reasons, along with better mileage performance, has made CNG cars favorite again. Also, in case of emergency, the option of switching over to petrol/diesel gives it an edge over electric vehicles.”
“With new launches from various companies, CNG as a preferred fuel has seen a huge growth,” said transport expert Vivek Pai. “This is because of increasing environmental benefits, government incentives promoting cleaner energy sources and improvement in engine efficiency and overall technology of CNG-run vehicles,” he said.
He further said that CNG reduces carbon monoxide emissions by approximately 80% and hydrocarbons by 44%.
Activist Mohammed Afzal, who has been pushing for green fuel, said: “CNG is not just an environmentally friendly fuel, but is economical for the common man. The Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) needs to expand its refuelling outlets from Mumbai to Pune so that those going for inter-city trips do not have a dearth of CNG pumps.”
Apart from private vehicle owners, a large number of public transport, such as autos, taxis and buses, across the region depend on CNG for daily fuel. The private car population on CNG is around 5 lakh and there are several car buyers who now opt for dual fuel, which includes petrol and CNG.
“CNG is an affordable fuel for me as it costs around INR 30 less than petrol and gives more mileage, along with less cost of maintenance in comparison,” said Dhruv Thakker, a CNG car owner.
MGL authorities said they are expanding the number of CNG filling outlets across the city. At present, there are 320 outlets with nearly 2,000 CNG dispensers catering to increasing demand for cars in Mumbai. MGL managing director Ashu Shinghal said: “The notable increase in adoption of CNG vehicles across both private and commercial sectors signifies a collective commitment towards fostering a cleaner and sustainable environment. The government policies and incentives encouraging the shift towards clean energy sources are further accelerating the adoption.
Sales of CNG cars were impacted during Covid pandemic and had dropped by nearly 50% in 2020. In a year, there was recovery in sales, and registrations later went up by 24% in Mumbai in 2022. The registrations have always been maximum at Wadala RTO for five years in a row, indicating that more people from eastern suburbs preferred CNG vehicles, the latest statistics showed.
Some years back, an experiment to introduce CNG motorcycles did not make much headway, and the project was dropped after 20 such bikes were brought on roads. In comparison, two wheelers have been more popular on electric due to faster adoption and easy to charge at home (charging station in your building), besides low running and maintenance costs. “So, in the clean fuel category, CNG now faces a direct threat from electric vehicles whose adoption is much faster in comparison,” pointed put a transport expert.
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