Maruti Suzuki to launch Vitara Brezza CNG in India soon, details here

Maruti Suzuki currently offers the most factory-fitted CNG equipped vehicles in India, and the company will introduce a CNG-powered SUV soon.

Maruti Suzuki is currently one of the few carmakers in India that have multiple CNG-powered cars in its product portfolio. The majority of the cars are hatchbacks, like the new Celerio CNG which is due this month, but the company is planning to launch a CNG-powered Vitara Brezza by April of this year which will make it the first manufacturer to offer a compact SUV with CNG as a factory option in India.

Maruti Suzuki India's chief technology officer, CV Raman, has previously stated that the company will have “a CNG variant for every model going forward.” He also added “CNG offers the lowest cost proposition in terms of total cost of ownership.”

There will be major updates to the Vitara Brezza model in 2022, including a CNG-powered version. This update will make Maruti Suzuki discontinue the Vitara name in favour of the "Maruti Suzuki Brezza".

Despite the updates, the Brezza is expected to be powered by a 1.5-litre inline-four K15B petrol engine that generates 105 hp of power and 138 Nm of peak torque. CNG-spec Vitara Brezzas will feature the same engine, however the power and torque outputs are expected to be reduced.

Additionally, the Ertiga CNG comes with the same engine, which outputs 92 hp of power and 122 Nm of peak torque, which is a decrease of 13 horsepower and 16 Nm over the petrol-powered version. As a result of its lighter weight, the Vitara Brezza CNG should have a better fuel economy than the Ertiga CNG.

It is not known how much the CNG variant of the Vitara Brezza will cost, but it is expected to cost between Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000 more than the regular variant. There are no direct rivals for the Brezza CNG, but Tata Motors may launch the Nexon with a CNG powertrain in the future. However, no official announcement has been made by Tata Motors yet.