CNG car, SUV sales rise 36 percent in April-August 2024

India’s CNG marketplace has seen plenty of action in the past few months, with Hyundai launching the dual-cylinder Grand i10 Nios CNG, the entry-level Aura E CNG, and the dual-cylinder Exter CNG. Maruti Suzuki also revealed prices for the Swift CNG just last week. That’s reason enough to take a quick look at the retail sales performance of the CNG segment for the first five months of FY2025.

As per Vahan retail sales data (as of September 6, 2024), India’s four CNG car and SUV manufacturers sold a total of 2,78,308 units in the April-August 2024 period, 73,864 units more than they did in April-August 2023 (2,04,044 units) and registered  a strong 36 percent year-on-year growth. July 2024, with 58,046 units, was the month with the highest sales, followed by April (57,097), August (56,672), May (55,675) and June (50,818).

CNG sales April-August
Carmaker	Apr-Aug 2024 sales	Apr-Aug 2023 sales	Change (%)	Apr-Aug 2024 market share (%)	Apr-Aug 2023 market share (%)
Maruti	2,01,123	1,58,655	27	72	78
Tata	42,984	18,621	131	15.44	9.12
Hyundai	28,436	23,774	20	10.21	11.65
Toyota	5,765	2,994	93	2.07	1.46
TOTAL	2,78,308	2,04,044	36	100	100

These four carmakers – Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai and Toyota – together sold a total of 5,90,071 units in FY2024, up 45 percent (FY2023: 4,07,334 units). This effectively means that CNG sales in the first five months of FY2025 are already 47 percent of the FY2024 total, with seven months still to go in the ongoing fiscal. If the same rate of growth is maintained between September 2024 and March 2025, one can expect the CNG industry to scale a new fiscal year high of over 7 lakh units.

Maruti CNG sales: market share reduces to 72 percent

Maruti Suzuki has the largest portfolio of 12 CNG models, comprising the Alto K10, Baleno, Brezza, Celerio, Dzire, Eeco, Ertiga, Grand Vitara, S-Presso, Wagon R, XL6, and Fronx. Understandably, with such a wide model spread, the company has a vice-like grip on the market. As per Vahan data, the company sold and delivered a total of 6,36,777 passenger vehicles in the April-August 2024 period, of which 2,01,123 are CNG-powered variants, constituting 31 percent of total sales. These 2,01,123 CNG sales mark a 27 percent YoY increase (April-August 2023: 1,58,655 units) and 46 percent of the company’s CY2023 CNG sales of 4,34,177 units. At present, the company holds a 72 percent share of the CNG market.

Maruti Suzuki currently has a strong order book of nearly 1,65,000 units spanning all its CNG models, with the most popular ones being the Ertiga MPV, Brezza compact SUV, and the Dzire sedan, which will soon be replaced by an all-new model. The company has outlined an ambitious sales target of over 6,00,000 CNG models in FY2025, which translates to 38 percent YoY growth over its FY2024’s 4,34,122 units, and around 11,000 units more than the entire car and SUV industry’s retail of 5,89,996 CNG cars and SUVs last fiscal.

Tata CNG sales: market share rises to 15 percent

Tata Motors has the second-highest CNG sales in the country. The company, which had first introduced its innovative twin-CNG-cylinder technology in the Tata Altroz hatchback, has now standardised the technology across its entire CNG line-up, which comprises the Tiago CNG, Punch CNG, Altroz CNG, and Tigor CNG.

Tata Motors sold a total of 83,482 CNG cars and SUVs in FY2024 and has already achieved 51 percent of that in the first five months of FY2025. Its April-August 2024, retails of 42,984 units (up 131 percent) make it well-placed at this stage of the fiscal to cross the 1 lakh CNG sales milestone for the first time in FY2025. For the first five months of FY2025, Tata’s CNG sales compared to the brand's total sales have risen to 41 percent – 83,482 units out of a total of 2,04,110 cars and SUVs retailed across petrol, diesel, CNG, and electric powertrains.

Along with being the only carmaker to offer AMT-equipped CNG variants, Tata is looking to expand its CNG portfolio with the upcoming Nexon iCNG and the Curvv iCNG.

Hyundai CNG sales: market share drops to 10.21 percent

Hyundai is ranked third in terms of CNG sales with 28,436 units, an increase of 20 percent YoY (April-August 2023: 23,774 units). This total is 44 percent of its FY2024 sales of 64,465 units, but the advance of Tata Motors and Toyota seems to have eaten into its market share, which is now 10.21 percent compared to 11.65 percent in April-August 2023. Hyundai's CNG portfolio consists of the Aura, Exter, and Grand i10 Nios. 

Toyota CNG sales: market share improves to 2.07 percent

Toyota is currently witnessing strong demand for its range of cars, SUVs and MPVs and registered wholesales of 1,26,456 units in April-August 2024. Its CNG portfolio – made up of the Taisor compact SUV, Glanza hatchback, Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV and the Rumion MPV – has also seen increased demand.  The brand sold 5,765 units in the past five months, up 93 percent YoY (April-August 2023: 2,994 units). This means CNG models contributed 5.53 percent of Toyota’s total retails of 1,04,149 cars and SUVs in the April-August 2024 period.

Also see:

India's top 3 carmakers record sales decline in August 2024

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