With changing government policies and regulation, prices of CNG have been hiked by Rs. 4.50. It should be noted that it is the second time an increase has been seen in the last three months, with the last revised rate witnessing a hike of Rs. 3.70. Indraprastha Gas Limited, who is the only supplier of CNG across all stations in Delhi-NCR, declared that CNG will bear a new price of Rs. 50.10 per kg in Delhi and Rs. 56.70 per kg in NCR regions.
Industry experts are of a view that prior to this increase, car owners were more inclined towards equipping their vehicles with CNG kits. There was a time when CNG costed a moderate Rs. 35.00 per kg and cars were returning a highly efficient fuel economy on this fuel source. Owing to this, all the renowned auto makers were offering lucrative schemes along with providing a company authorised CNG kit in its vehicles. People had gradually become more sensitive towards the environment and were largely adapting this eco-friendly fuel. Sources close to this development have hinted that the continuous rise in demand of this fuel source can also be the reason of this price hike.
Such an inflation in CNG rates will certainly open a window of opportunity for the diesel-powered cars. Notably, domestic auto market has recently witnessed a paradigm shift where the petrol cars is equally competing with the sales of their diesel versions. Therefore, automotive companies are focussing on both the variants and are coming up with better technologies to make their cars more fuel efficient. The current petrol price is Rs. 71.52 per litre and for diesel, the amount is Rs. 53.78 per litre. It is widely expected that if CNG rates keep on increasing at the same pace, it will soon surpass the prices of petrol and diesel soon.
The general trend among Indian buyers is that after availing a petrol car, they soon tend to update it with a CNG kit to maintain their budget. However, auto experts unanimously agree that incorporating a CNG kit deteriorates the engine and reduces its performance largely. The expected age of the vehicle is also reduced. But somehow, the pattern will be changing in the coming time as car owners are getting more concerned about their vehicles' performance. Such a change would see the petrol version solely being utilised in the car and would also be advantageous for car manufacturers as they would not be concerned with providing CNG kits in its upcoming products.
