Bajaj Auto’s Executive Director Rakesh Sharma told PTI that the company is developing a line of CNG motorcycles that will be on sale in April 2024 in the upcoming fiscal year. The domestic two-wheeler behemoth is also anticipated to display a prototype of its next-generation CNG motorcycles during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo, which takes place at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi beginning on February 1. At the event, the business plans to display a variety of CNG and flex-fuel vehicles.
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According to reports, Bajaj Auto thinks CNG is a fantastic choice for Indian customers. The company hopes to achieve the same level of success in the two-wheeler market as it did with CNG vehicles in the three-wheeler segment. Sharma also disclosed that Bajaj Auto’s next generation of CNG motorcycles will be introduced under a whole new brand and will cost more than their gasoline-powered counterparts. The increased cost of production is the cause of the higher premium since the future CNG motorcycles will have a unique fuel tank that will allow them to run on both gasoline and CNG.
Sharma withheld information regarding whether the incoming Bajaj Auto CNG motorcycles will be variants of current models or whole new models. But he added that Bajaj Auto is concentrating on a variety of CNG-powered motorcycles across segments rather than launching just one model. Sharma added that fuel-conscious Indian consumers will be the target market for the next generation of CNG motorcycles. Furthermore, “A variety of automobiles from all segments will be included, rather than just one vehicle. The goal is to create a portfolio of CNG motorcycles, which we may not offer all at once. It will be a vehicle that the buyer would be proud to own,” he reportedly stated. There will be a distinct brand.
Bajaj wants the GST on CNG cars to be reduced.
According to a Bajaj Auto spokesperson, the additional manufacturing costs will result in the future CNG motorcycles from the company being more expensive than their fuel equivalents. In order to make CNG cars more cheap, he suggested that their tax rate be reduced in comparison to that of gasoline-powered cars. “For this reason, the government need to, at the very least, tax it at a rate lower than that of gasoline-powered vehicles—roughly 12 percent GST—if not treat it equally with electric vehicles and levy a five percent GST. Customers and businesses will benefit from it, too,” Sharma said.
He made no projections on the CNG motorcycles’ sales or their share of the automaker’s total two-wheeler sales because they would depend on a number of variables, such as the accessibility of CNG filling stations and consumer behavior.