Following Bajaj Auto's launch of the world’s first CNG motorcycle, the Freedom 125, its closest rival, TVS Motor Company, plans to be the first ground-up CNG scooter manufacturer worldwide.
- Jupiter CNG should hit the market come 2025
- Company targeting 1000 units sales per month
- TVS sells 1 out of 4 scooters sold in India
TVS Jupiter CNG launch, engine details
Our sister publication, Autocar Professional, learns that TVS Motor Company has been working on various alternate fuel technologies over the years and has already developed a CNG option. It is now just pulling that powertrain alternative off the shelf and planning to add it to its Jupiter scooter.
Sources say work on the project codenamed U740 - a 125cc CNG scooter - has begun. If all goes well, the scooter may be launched as early as the last quarter of 2024 but not later than the first half of 2025.
People in the know say the company has a modest target of selling about 1,000 units of its gas-based scooters per month. The intention is to offer prospective buyers multiple cleaner alternatives and reduce the company's CO2 footprint.
In an email response, TVS Motor Company’s spokesperson said, “all the technology options (CNG, EV, multi-fuels etc) are very exciting, and we are interested. But as outlined in the previous investor call, our plan this year is to launch another electric vehicle, an ICE vehicle and an E3W vehicle. We are working towards that. We have already launched several variants of the TVS iQube this year. At the core of any choice that we make on the technology is whether it will make for happy and proud TVS owners.”
The South Indian two-wheeler major is known for its robust R&D setup and effort to develop innovative solutions for the market. The company has the most diverse product portfolio in the country, ranging from mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles to an electric bike it makes for BMW and big bikes under Norton Motorcycle brand.
TVS Motor is the third largest two-wheeler maker in the country, with a market share of 18 percent and sales of 3.15 million units. It is also the second largest scooter maker in India, with one in four scooters sold in the country coming from TVS. It sells about 1 million motorcycles and half a million motorcycles annually.
The Bajaj Freedom 125 has a CNG capacity of kg and a 2 litre petrol tank. The company claims a mileage of 102km/kg for CNG and 65km/ltr for petrol, so the bike can run for roughly 330km on a single tankful of both. It is priced between Rs 95,000 - Rs 1.10 lakh, which is in the same ballpark as other 125cc commuters. The Jupiter 125 is currently priced between Rs 79,299 - Rs 90,480 (ex-showroom, Delhi), so the TVS Jupiter CNG should slot into the market somewhere around that ballpark when it launches.
