New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki on Monday announced that it has sold 5 lakh vehicles fitted with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as an alternate fuel option. This is the total sales number since the option of CNG was introduced in 2010.


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While the WagonR is the highest-selling CNG model in its range of cars with the option, the other cars from the country's largest automaker which has this as an option are Alto 800, Alto K10, Celerio, Dzire, Eeco and Super Carry. The company further said that CNG vehicles formed 15% of its total sales between April and November of this year.


Commenting on the company reaching the milestone, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO, said that the Maruti Suzuki remains committed to a clean-fuel alternative. "We are happy that over 5 lakh customers have selected factory-fitted CNG vehicles that are cleaner, reliable, safer and environment-friendly. The benefit of low cost of ownership comes along with environment-friendly fuel option of CNG," he said. "The government’s resolve to rapidly expand countrywide CNG will enable many more customers to own an environment-friendly transport."


While Delhi and NCR sees the bulk of sales in this category, select cities in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab too have contributed to the overall numbers.


While CNG is indeed a cheaper fuel option and one that is cleaner than standalone petrol and diesel alternatives, those who shy away from it cite reasons like long waiting time at CNG pumps, loss of boot space and safety concerns. Maruti Suzuki claims that factory-fitted CNG kits are completely safe and would make for years of hassle-free driving.