Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has raised its FY27 target for green-vehicle sales to nearly 1 million units after launching automatic S-CNG variants of the Swift, Dzire and Baleno, seeking to expand CNG adoption among urban car buyers who want lower running costs without giving up automatic transmission.
The company, which includes CNG, hybrid and electric vehicles in its green-vehicle category, had earlier expected to sell 8 lakh to 9 lakh such vehicles during the financial year. Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee, said the revised target was supported by the new automatic CNG models and market conditions including crude prices of around USD 100 a barrel.
Maruti Suzuki is the dominant player in India’s CNG passenger-vehicle market, with a claimed market share of 70 per cent. The company currently sells close to 80,000 CNG vehicles a month, while CNG models account for around 43 per cent of its own portfolio, according to Banerjee.
The new variants are aimed at customers who previously chose petrol-powered automatic cars because CNG models were largely available without automatic transmission. Banerjee said the automatic options were intended for “new-age customers who refuse to compromise” between CNG’s running-cost advantage and the convenience of an automatic gearbox.
The launch also highlights a supply-side constraint in the CNG vehicle market. Banerjee said customer demand was not the primary limitation on higher volumes, with production capacity for CNG vehicles currently at about 18,000 units a month. The company is allocating available vehicles according to waiting periods and expects higher supplies to unlock additional sales.
The company said it was hopeful that CNG could account for 50 per cent of its green-vehicle portfolio if supply capacity improves, although Banerjee did not confirm whether that level would be reached during the current fiscal year.
The automatic S-CNG Dzire has been introduced at an introductory ex-showroom price of ₹8.53 lakh, while the Swift automatic S-CNG is priced at ₹7.92 lakh and the Baleno automatic S-CNG at ₹8.32 lakh. Maruti Suzuki claimed that the Dzire automatic S-CNG delivers fuel efficiency of 36.47 km per kg, making it India’s most fuel-efficient sedan in its category.
The launches give buyers in cities and other high-use vehicle markets another CNG option, but the company’s ability to reach its revised target will depend on how quickly it can expand production capacity. Maruti Suzuki said increasing CNG supplies would be the next step towards higher volumes.
