Why you should convert:
- The conversion is absolutely safe when done at a qualified government authorized retrofittment center (such as Suman Enterprise).
There is no welding involved and no fundamental changes to the body structure.
- Petrol option is retained so your vehicle turns into a "green" very low polluting duel fuel hybrid.
- As petrol option is retained your range in not effected. i.e. you can travel irrespective of availability of CNG / LPG along the route.
- Growing number of CNG / LPG pumps
- Finally, it saves you (and the nation) lots and lots of money.
Let us see the economies of both fuels:
What does conversion to CNG cost? ( Use the cost calculator )
The cost of the entire CNG kit and installation is approximately Rs 40,000 over the price of the car. So is it worth it? Not if you cover about 10 to 20 km daily.
CNG retails for around Rs 22 per kg in Mumbai, and at this rate, you will recover the cost in two to three years if you drive on an average of 40 to 50 km a day.
It is simple. The more you drive, the earlier you recover your investment -- yes, it is the classic diesel versus petrol argument all over again.
You will have to sacrifice some boot space and a small degree of performance too.
So is it worth it?
A very big yes if you are a fleet owner and want to run your CNG Lancer / Optra / Indica / Indigo Marina as a taxi. You will recover the cost in no time at all.
Just a yes, if your car covers 50 km a day, if you have a chauffeur and if you can spare him for an hour or two every few days to queue up behinds cabs and rickshaws to fill up gas.
A no, if you do not fall in the above two categories.
And a very big no if CNG is not available where you live. CNG infrastructure is not that widespread in the country, which is why HM, GM and Tata are offering the CNG
versions of their cars only in certain parts of the country, like Mumbai, the National Capital Region and Gujarat.
Doesn't help then, does it? Well, there is an alternative. And that is:
LPG
The cost of the entire LPG kit and installation is approximately Rs 24,000 over the price of the car. So is it worth it? Not if you cover about 10 to 20 km daily.
LPG retails for around Rs 37 per lt. in Mumbai, and at this rate, you will recover the cost in two to three years if you drive on an average of 40 to 50 km a day.
It is simple. The more you drive, the earlier you recover your investment -- yes, it is the classic diesel versus petrol argument all over again.
You will have to sacrifice some boot space and a small degree of performance too.
Of late, a number of car manufacturers are offering cars factory fitted with LPG kits.
In any case, you can always convert your current petrol car to LPG at our garage.
Though you have to pay more for LPG than CNG (remember, it's also litre versus kg), it still works out to excellent savings in fuel costs. Another positive aspect
about LPG is that it does not inhibit engine performance as much as CNG does. As regards distribution, a growing number of cities in India are now offering LPG filling stations.
So your travelling range is not as restricted as it was a few years earlier. (view our comprehensive list of auto LPG filling stations.)
So for a personal vehicle, it makes sense to go for LPG (may a 1,000 retail outlets bloom), while for commercial vehicles, CNG vehicles deliver better economies.
