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CNG car sales shot up to 1,71,288 units in FY2021 and recorded its best year FY volume yet! It was a 49 percent increment over FY2020 when CNG models contributed to 1,14,791 units.
Maruti Suzuki which was amongst the earliest OEMs to introduce CNG-powered cars in India clocked the highest-ever CNG car sales of 1,48,211 units in FY2021. It recorded a YoY increase of 41.6 percent.
While Maruti was the clear winner in terms of volumes; it is to be noted that Hyundai too has made serious inroads in terms of CNG car sales. The Korean major logged a 132 percent YoY increase and the sales shot up to 23,077 units in FY2021, from 9,930 units in FY2020.
Fuel wise Sales Snapshot for FY2021 -
The share of Petrol cars has increased from 67 percent in 2019-20 to 76 percent in 2020-21 in spite of Petrol cost surging to unprecedented levels.
Diesel car sales have dropped dramatically from 29 percent in 2019-20 to just 17 percent in 2020-21 ( do note that diesel car share in 2012-13 was 54 percent).
The decline in Diesel model sales is led by a number of carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Renault, Nissan, VW & Skoda deciding to stop selling diesel models completely due to the BS-6 transition.
The share of CNG cars has also increased from 4 percent in 2019-20 to 6 percent in 2020-21 ruled by market leaders Maruti Suzuki & Hyundai as no other OEMs sell CNG models.
YoY change in Fuel Mix Volumes -
The sales of Electric/Hybrid Cars recorded the highest YoY increase in FY2021. However; it was the Electric Cars that outshined the industry and registered a 110 percent YoY increase. EV sales were 5,905 units in FY2021 against 2,814 units sold in FY2020.
Tata Motors led the rise in Electric PV sales and over 71 percent of Electric Cars sold in India in FY2021 came from Tata's stable. Hybrid cars are on a decline and only Toyota is offering Hybrid models in India currently. Hybrid Car Sales slumped over 35 percent in FY2021 over FY2020.
CNG Cars Sales increased an impressive 49 percent YoY and inches towards 2 Lakh yearly volumes. CNG cars contributed volumes of 1,71,288 in FY2021 - While Diesel Cars sold 4,60,357 units in the same period. It is clear that CNG is clearly gaining volumes and currently only 2 OEMs have offerings in the Fuel Option - Maruti and Hyundai.
Factors for Increase in CNG Cars Sales -
Incessant Price hike of petrol and diesel fuels last year has moved a lot of customers to opt for CNG cars.
Running costs of a CNG car is significantly lower compared to either the Petrol or Diesel counterpart as the vehicle gives better fuel economy when driven on CNG.
Improved CNG filling infrastructure has helped the sales grow for CNG cars. More than 700 CNG stations have been added in the last year, a growth of more than 50 percent. There are more than 2,800 CNG stations across the country, which is likely to cross 10,000 numbers over the next 7-8 years.
Both Maruti and Hyundai have aggressively promoted CNG models to gain volumes in FY2021. Maruti put all efforts to recover the loss of sales due to the OEM moving out of the diesel market since April 2020.
Best Selling CNG Cars in India for FY2021 -
Maruti Suzuki Wagon R S-CNG contributed to over 35% of the CNG cars sold in India for FY2021. Among the 1,71,288 CNG cars sold; Wagon R sales were 60,222 units and it emerged as India’s No.1 selling CNG model.
Wagon-R CNG is well accepted due to its practicality, space, and low running cost. It is equally famous in the taxi segment and one can see a slew of Wagon R CNG taxis running in Delhi or Mumbai. Wagon R is incidentally India’s most fuel-efficient factory-fitted CNG car as well (Source).
Maruti Ertiga CNG ranked second and 31,776 units were sold in FY2021! Ertiga CNG too seems to have well accepted in the fleet segment and is a popular choice.
Overall 7 Maruti Suzuki models & 4 Hyundai models fared in the list. The best-selling CNG car from the Hyundai’s stable was the Aura. It ranked fifth in the table and recorded one of the highest YoY increases in FY2021.
A look at Maruti Suzuki's Fuel wise Sales for FY2021 -
47 percent of Maruti's portfolio comes in the CNG bi-fuel option (i.e.7 out of 15 models). This is evident in the sales contribution as well - Over 11 percent of Maruti Suzuki's sales came from the CNG models!
38 percent of Wagon R's overall volume came from the CNG variants!
Maruti sold over 1.48L units of CNG in 2020-21 which is even higher than many OEMs overall volume
A look at Hyundai's Fuel wise Sales for FY2021 -
36 percent of Hyundai's line up comes in CNG bi-fuel option (i.e. 4 out of 11 models)
Aura is the highest selling CNG model for Hyundai and over 31 percent of Aura's overall volume comes from CNG variants.