Tata Motors expects EV, CNG car sales to zoom in next 3yrs

New Delhi: Tata Motors is expecting CNG cars contribution to grow up to 20 per cent gradually in its total sales over the next 3 to 5 years as it anticipates more entry-level petrol and diesel customers to opt for such models, a top company official has said.

The Mumbai-based auto major is also bullish on the electric vehicle segment with sales expected to account for about 20 per cent of its overall dispatches over the next few years. "I think CNG is a segment which is going to grow in the coming years. This will be a subset of, I would say, the petrol, because this is being more triggered with the rising cost of petrol. It uses a petrol engine...and therefore, it will mostly cannibalise petrol and to a great extent, also diesel, replacing diesel in the entry segment," Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicle and Electric Vehicles Shailesh Chandra said in an analyst call.

Therefore, the company sees a strong future of this, given that there is a deeper penetration and expansion of the CNG outlets which is taking place in the country, he added. Chandra noted that currently diesel car sales across its portfolio stand at around 15 per cent, while petrol and CNG sales account for roughly about 66 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively. EVs account for the rest of the dispatches. "In the next three to five years, petrol will possibly come down to about 50 per cent level, CNG will go up to 20 per cent..diesel would come down further to about 10 per cent and I would say (for) EV..., we have already declared our target of going more towards 20 per cent," Chandra stated. Elaborating further, he said the company is focusing on hatchback and compact sedan segments for expansion of CNG model range.

"I think in SUVs, CNG might struggle, given that it is a very performance-oriented segment, and less sensitive to running costs. And therefore, I see that CNG will have only partial penetration in those segments."