| LPG WagonR takes on scooters |
| S Kalyana Ramanathan / New Delhi February 11, 2006 |
| Maruti's dual-fuel version to lower running costs to Rs 1.84 km/litre. Auto war is all set to take a new turn with market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd preparing to offer fuel efficiency on its cars comparable to that of a scooter. In less than a month from now, the company will launch the dual-fuel version of the WagonR (priced at Rs 25,000 more than the petrol WagonR), that can also run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and deliver scooter-like fuel efficiency. The cost of auto-grade LPG is Rs 23.88 per litre and the WagonR, as well as the Omni, return an efficiency of 13 km per litre, while a scooter runs on petrol costing Rs 55.66 per litre including 2T oil to fetch 34 km per litre. Thus, the cost of running the LPG WagonR works out to Rs 1.84 per km -- just 21 paise more Rs 1.63 per kilometre needed to drive a scooter. |
