Maruti Suzuki looks beyond top 10 markets to boost CNG car sales

90% of firm's sales in the category comes from 10 states

About 90 per cent of CNG car sales of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) are recorded in the top 10 markets (states). The company is now making efforts, in collaboration with gas distribution companies, to boost its CNG car sales in the “next top 10 markets”, MSIL senior executive officer (marketing and sales) Partho Banerjee said on Friday.

 

MSIL sold about 281,000 units of CNG-run cars in the first half of 2024-25 (H1FY25), recording a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 28.4 per cent. In H1FY24, the company had sold 218,000 units of CNG-run cars.

 

"We are focused on strengthening our bigger markets and penetrating deeper into the newer ones. These ‘next 10 states’ are the ones where CNG distribution companies are taking interest in setting up more stations. We are collaborating with them to push CNG sales in these markets," Banerjee told Business Standard.

 

 

"For this, we have worked out a joint marketing strategy with a combination of ATL (above the line) activities like print ads, press releases, etc., and BTL (below the line) activities like joint promotions at CNG pumps and our car showrooms," he stated.

 

ATL activities in marketing refer to broad-based campaigns such as TV, radio, and print advertisements, designed to reach a mass audience and build brand awareness. BTL activities involve targeted efforts such as direct mail, events, and promotions, aimed at engaging specific groups and driving immediate action. 

 

"The top 10 states (CNG car markets) for MSIL are Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. CNG penetration in the 10 states was 43.9 per cent in this financial year till October," Banerjee noted.

 

"The next 10 states (CNG car markets where MSIL would focus more) are Punjab, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, and Chandigarh. CNG penetration in these states was 13.3 per cent in FY25 till October," he added.

 

MSIL's strong growth in CNG car sales has come at a time when the automobile industry's overall volume sales growth has been tepid. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the automobile industry sold 2.081 million units of passenger vehicles (PVs) in H1FY25, which was just 0.5 per cent higher Y-o-Y. MSIL's overall PV sales dropped by 0.3 per cent Y-o-Y to 844,614 units in the same period.

 

During an investor conference call on October 29 this year, Rahul Bharti, executive director, corporate affairs, MSIL, stated: "The consumer preference towards CNG vehicles continues to increase. In the second quarter of this financial year, every one in three cars sold by the company in the domestic market was a CNG vehicle."

 

"CNG is a story across multiple factors. One is the distribution infrastructure in the country. Today we are at 7,000 (CNG stations). It will go up to 17,000 by the turn of the decade. And the number of models will also keep going up. It has a lower carbon dioxide footprint. So, it's good for the environment also. Customers in upper segments, premium SUVs, are accepting it as a quality fuel. It's not supposed to be an economy fuel any longer. So, there are factors going positive for it," Bharti mentioned.

 

"MSIL introduced the S-CNG (factory-fitted CNG technology) powertrain in its 4th generation Epic New Swift. With this, Maruti Suzuki offers the industry's most comprehensive line-up of S-CNG vehicles with 14 models," he added.