The move by government to increase petrol prices while leaving diesel untouched has made the petrol cars owners scowling. The petrol price hike in May 2012, which generally powers several cars on Indian road, has further widened the gap between the two. This has clouded the happiness of individuals who own a petrol car and are now wondering if it will be wiser to sell off and go for diesel one instead. Or if it will be better to fit a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) kit in their old petrol cars.
At times when several car owners moving ahead to buy diesel models, fitting of CNG kits came in limelight. It is a known fact that both of these options can offer a decent economy in long run, however, the customer should consider several factors before going ahead for any of these. The major issue to be addressed while choosing between CNG and diesel is the daily usage and maintenance of the car.
A dealer of Car Choice, Uday Prabhu, said, “If fuel cost is your worry, there are a couple of options before you. You can fit your existing car with a CNG kit or alternatively sell your petrol car and buy a diesel or a CNG car. However, change only if you drive at least 500 km every month.”
CNG is an affordable measure to reduce the running cost of the vehicle and at the same time it is environment friendly as well. Incorporation of CNG kit makes the vehicle relatively fuel efficient, even from diesel counterparts. Depending upon the car model, the cost of CNG kit varies from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 55,000. To mention a few, for a Hyundai Santro or Honda City, the cost of CNG kit will lie in a range of Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 35,000. On the other hand, the same kit for Honda Accord costs Rs. 50,000. The price of CNG kit is inclusive of the RTO endorsement, which is a mandatory quote.
Speaking of mileage, a CNG vehicle offers mileage of around 18 km per kg of the fuel, which makes the running cost of the vehicle somewhere around Rs. 1.89 per km. in contrast, a petrol car like WagonR delivers a fuel efficiency of 14 kmpl, which makes the running cost of the vehicle somewhere around Rs. 5.67 per kilometre. Based upon the abovementioned fundamentals, the owner can save Rs. 3.78 on every km in their CNG kit fitted car as compared to that of petrol models.
