Hyundai to showcase LPG Santro, Getz, Accent at Auto Expo '08

01 January 2008

New Delhi: Alternative, more affordable fuels seem to be the flavour of the month for Hyundai Motor India's (HMIL) trip to the Auto Expo '08.

HMIL is set to launch the LPG variants of its most popular models, the Santro, Getz, and Accent, by March 2008, according to reports.

Company sources too indicate that Hyundai Motor India will be ''showcasing the LPG variant of Santro, Getz and Accent during the Auto Expo, with their commercial launch expected by March.''

For now, Hyundai sells a solitary CNG variant of the Santro in the alternative fuel category, doing volumes of around 500 units a month that are weighed down considerably due to the limited availability of CNG across Indian cities. CNG is available in cities such as Hyderabad, Agartala, Vadodara, Kanpur, Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai.

LPG on the other hand, has a more pervasive nationwide reach. According to the industry, there are around 385 LPG dispensing stations across 148 cities in India. More importantly, LPG dispensing stations are also mushrooming around highways, particularly the Golden Quadrilateral project, to facilitate longer range movement vehicles driven on the fuel.

Besides the price of petrol and diesel, driven sky high by oil prices in the range of $100 a barrel, safety is another feature that is driving consumer preference towards driving on natural gas.