Ashok Leyland wants to be the leader in CNG commercial vehicles

The share of commercial vehicle has constantly increased and is currently at 10 percent of the industry

Hinduja flagship commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland said that CNG will be a big driver for its alternative fuel vehicle portfolio.

CNG’s share of total industry volume of commercial vehicles has constantly increased and as per data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), CNG trucks form about 10 percent of the market with the remaining 90 percent being diesel.

“In last two years, the delta between diesel and CNG increased which is leading to fast movement towards CNG. For shorter routes, CNG will become popular. The infrastructure like CNG fuel stations has also simultaneously built up,” said Sanjeev Kumar, head, MHCV, Ashok Leyland.

The company as part of its green mobility initiatives, has put in place a strong team to focus exclusively on alternate fuel technology that uses low carbon.

The company has entered the CNG CV goods carrier space with the launch of the E-Comet Star ICV (intermediate CV) CNG truck range.

The CNG trucks the company launched are available in two gross vehicle weight (GVW) options—16.1-tonne and 14.25-tonne—and three CNG cylinder options.

Kumar said that the transition to electric as a fuel for heavy tonnage vehicles like trucks will take some time while there will be faster adoption for CNG. “While electricity will be more prominent in buses, shifting to higher tonnage vehicles will take some time. I think as a progression after CNG there will be Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) before electric,” Kumar said.

The primary reason, Kumar feels, is the development of infrastructure for CNG vehicles in various cities. “In various cities, the government has opened tenders for multiple tenders for city gas distribution companies. CNG infra is now present in multiple states. The pace of shift to electric will depend on the creation of such infra,” he said.

There are demands from private companies and state transport units as they also shift towards alternate fuel. Recently, the company has delivered 10 BS VI CNG buses to India’s largest airline for operation at New Delhi Airport.

But Ashok Leyland is simultaneously working on multiple alternate fuels other than CNG like electric, LNG, Methanol.

The Hinduja group recently launched a new electric vehicle firm, Switch Mobility by merging the electric commercial vehicle operations of Ashok Leyland and the former Optare Company as it seeks to secure a leading global position in net zero carbon buses and light commercial vehicles. 

“We should be prepared and be ready that as and when the time and technology demands, we should be ready,” Kumar said.