Drive a CNG car? Good news for you as price of fuel set to come down

Price per kilo of Compressed Natural Gas or CNG is all set to come down. This after the Union Cabinet gave its green signal to a revision in the formula for pricing of natural gas and imposed cap or ceiling price. The price cut will be up to 10 per cent. At present, a kilo of CNG in Delhi, for instance, is at ₹79.56 and will come down to ₹73.59. In Mumbai, the per kilo rate will come down from ₹87 to ₹79.

The impending reduction in CNG rates will come as a big relief to those who drive cars with the alternate-fuel capability. In recent times, the price gap between a litre of petrol and a kilo of fuel has been reducing which led many to question the viability of buying vehicles with CNG kits. News agency PTI reports CNG rates jumped 80 per cent in one year to August 2022, primarily due to escalating energy prices in the international market.A reduction in CNG price therefore will come as a big relief for such customers.

The move will also come as a shot in the arm for select number of car manufacturers who offer company-fitted CNG technology. While Hyundai and Tata Motors offers CNG-fitted vehicles, Maruti Suzuki has the largest portfolio of CNG-fitted models. The latest was the Brezza which became the 14th model from the company to also come with the S-CNG technology. Company officials admit that price difference between petrol and CNG have been coming down but claim that this has not had any adverse impact on demand for such vehicles. Maruti Suzuki further points to CNG and hybrid engines as the natural stepping stones in the transition towards fully-electric technology.