Key highlights
- Skoda is evaluating a CNG engine for India
- The 1.0 TSI engine could be used for the CNG powertrain
- The CNG engine is likely to debut on Kylaq, Kushaq, and new Slavia
Skoda Auto India’s Brand Director, Ashish Gupta, recently revealed during a media interaction that the brand is evaluating the CNG engine for the Indian market. This move comes as the brand’s petrol market share has dropped substantially after ethanol blending and the Middle East fuel crisis.
Skoda Kylaq, Slavia & Kushaq to get CNG engine soon?
The recent media interaction between Ashish Gupta and Autocar Professional has revealed that Skoda Auto India is aggressively working on CNG engines for the Indian market. The conversation revealed that the brand has been quitely forced to move towards the alternative fuel engines due to the drop in petrol engine car demand after ethanol blending came into effect.
Moreover, Ashish revealed that most brands are working towards CNG alternatives as the CNG buyers are consistently increasing. While Skoda India intends to enter the CNG market via the Kylaq as its low-cost model, the brand director also revealed that new buyers are open to buy costlier CNG alternatives like the Kushaq and Slavia.
He told the publication that the engineering team has been given the Northstar to develop the CNG powertrain for various models. Although he did not confirm which other models will get it, he did reveal that the 1.0 TSI engine is used in three models and it is a better fit.
Upon the performance drop topic, Ashish told Autocar that Skoda customers understand well that there will be a 10-15 percent drop in the performance with the CNG. However, he said that new customers are now ready to spend more money as they want tech-loaded premium cars that are affordable to run. Hence, they care lesser about the performance and focus on the affordability.
As of now, the launch timeline of the first Skoda CNG car has not been revealed. However, we can safely say that Kylaq CNG will be the first model to launch, and it could be unveiled sometime next year.
Also read: Tesla Model Y sales surpass 600 units: Slowly gaining popularity
