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Neena Haridas and Swapna Khanna in New Delhi

• Kinetic Engineering launched its Electric Scooter on January 13.
• TVS Suzuki is ready to roll out its Spectra, which runs on liquified petroleum gas or LPG, in the next three months.
• The Daewoo Cielo, launched on January 12, is eco-friendly and runs on compressed natural gas or CNG.
• Fiat India unveiled its green hearted luxury car Sienna and small car Uno which have been given a CNG variant.
• Maruti Udyog is previewing its prototype van called Every Electric which uses battery as fuel instead of petrol or diesel.

Auto majors across the country finally seem to be getting a green conscience. Be it the result of government pressure or environmentalists' rage, some of the products on display at the Auto Expo 2000 could bring in a whiff of fresh air. The Auto Expo this year reflects the industry's search for alternative technology in an attempt to reduce pollution.

It may be recalled that Maruti Udyog had taken the lead in the green drive by launching its CNG-run Omni and Maruti 800 in mid-1999. These cars were mainly targeted at the taxi owners. Says a company spokesperson, "The CNG vehicles did well with the target audience because it was not just eco- friendly but affordable too with the CNG costing only a fraction of the petrol price."

Hindustan Motors followed with two CNG models of the Ambassador. The base model was priced at Rs 315,558 and the Ambassador 1800 ISZ bi-fuel (which runs on both CNG and petrol) carried price tags ranging from Rs 372,943 (non a/c) and Rs 418,449 (a/c).

But it is not just CNG that the auto majors are considering now. The companies have come out with vehicles that can run on batteries and LPG. While some companies such as Bajaj Auto are still experimenting with their electric vehicles, Kinetic Engineering and TVS Suzuki are ready for mass production. Kinetic Engineering's electric scooter, launched on Thursday, runs on battery which needs to be charged after every 60 kilometres.

Says Arun Firodia, chairman, Kinetic Engineering, "We decided to launch electric scooter because we want to contribute to the cleaning up of the air in the cities. These scooters are to be priced around Rs 30,000 and will target city drivers for short distances. They are fast, non-geared and easy to use. They will also work out cheaper than maintaining a petrol-run scooter because all that the user needs to do is recharge the battery once-a-while."

Kinetic plans to lease out the battery to the consumer who then recharges it from the dealers. Firodia says that Kinetic will be able to sell about 20,000 units of the electric scooter a year and expects to double the number in three years.

Says Firodia, "We have to create awareness for this product since it is a new idea/concept. But I think people will use this scooter as a mode of transport for a short shopping trip or dropping kids to school or bus-stops. Obviously, this is not meant for long-trips. What the government can do is come up with a stipulation that only such zero-polluting vehicles can be used in certain areas -- busy areas. I think this is the only way to reduce the pollution levels in the cities."

Scooter India too has its share of the electric vehicle in Vikram EV -- a three-wheeler run on battery. With a capacity of eight passengers, the product is being targeted at commercial buyers wanting to transport man or material.

In the four-wheeler segment, Maruti Udyog's Every Electric, run on battery, is aimed at the urban stop-and-go traffic. Says Rohtash Mal, chief general manager, MUL, "The battery packs drive the superior DC Brushless motor which powers the rear wheels. Along with less power consumption, it makes high acceleration and high speed possible. The battery provides sufficient energy for extended travel."

The Every Electric produces a top speed of 95 kilometres per hour while the travel distance, charge to charge, varies from 115 km to 160 km, depending on the speed the vehicle is driven at.

Bajaj Auto has developed a prototype of electric three-wheelers and is experimenting with CNG fuel for its autorickshaws. They are also trying to come up with the electric two-wheelers.

"It will take another couple of years for the electric scooters to make it to the mass market. One, they are still not very reliable in terms of performance and two, we have not yet reached the economies of scale to make it viable for mass production," declares Bajaj Auto vice-president Rajeev Bajaj.

"We are also experimenting with a fuel which will be 70 per cent petrol and 30 per cent kerosene for autos to provide a more environment-friendly fuel.

The drivers anyway adulterate the fuel they use making it very harmful for the environment. Since there is no way to stop them, the only solution is to be proactive and try to find a solution to this," he added.

According to auto experts, the problem with electric scooters is that they have very low pick-up and is cumbersome to get charged each time. Hence, preempting the charging problem in electric vehicles, TVS Suzuki has come up with its TVS Spectra which runs on LPG. It uses a 1.6 litre mini LPG cylinder which is fixed under the seat and gives 120 km per cylinder.

Since the government has not recognised LPG as an automotive fuel, the launch has been deferred. Says Naresh Chandra Sharma, assistant general manager (projects), TVS, “We are ready to launch the Spectra. We have already tied up with the LPG distributors to make available these mini LPG cylinders across the city. The Spectra will be priced around Rs 30,000 and will be launched in three months.”

However, the alternate fuel that has government recognition and is well-accepted by the consumers is the CNG. And it is this fuel that companies such as Daewoo and Fiat are tapping now. The CNG-run vehicles costs upto Rs 50,000 more than the petrol models as the CNG kits cost the company an extra Rs 36,000 to Rs 40,0000.

Daewoo Motors launched the CNG version of its successful model Cielo yesterday. With this, this midsize car now becomes even more economical to own and operate. "There will be no compromises on world class quality standards and because of its massive trunk space, there will be no loss of luggage room due to the CNG kit," says a company spokesperson.

Fiat India announced its plans to launch the CNG version of the Sienna and Uno in the coming quarter. The Sienna will come with two models in the CNG version, while the Uno CNG model will have an upgraded engine. "Both these models are being targeted at taxi owners," says Enrico Ferrero, sales and marketing director, Fiat India.

The Sienna CNG will be launched in April this year, and will be followed by the Uno CNG in May. MUL too is displaying CNG versions of its recently-launched Wagon-R and luxury sedan Baleno. “We are not just introducing CNG cars but we are also investing substantially in training and equipping our dealers to fit and service CNG kits.”

The Tatas too have plans along similar lines. While Tata Engineering has 10 CNG buses operating in Delhi, it plans to increase the number of CNG buses considerably this year. Later, there will be CNG models of its passenger cars too. However, Tata Engineering chairman Ratan Tata said the CNG cars would not be introduced until the petrol models are better established in the market.

"At present, the Indica has petrol and diesel versions. Our CNG model will be introduced only after we have captured a better market share," says Tata.

Interestingly, all the companies are targeting their CNG vehicles primarily at taxi services, private and public sector organisations, and embassies.

Says Mal of Maruti, “The reason is simply that they are bulk buyers and they can be given special offers to popularise the concept. Taxi owners of course buy them as they are replacing their old and highly polluting vehicles and the CNG is a cost-effective alternative.”

Says R Santhanam, executive director, HM, "When pollution is on the rise, CNG is the most eco-friendly fuel. It has lowest emissions of toxic gases, air pollution, noise levels and negligible evaporative losses of fuel. Besides, CNG-driven vehicles are a cheaper alternative to the conventional petrol or diesel-run vehicles."

Compared to Rs 23.94 per litre of petrol and Rs 9.87 for diesel, CNG costs only Rs 8.12 per litre and cost per kilometre also works out to be Rs 0.81 for CNG vehicles compared to Rs 2.39 for petrol and Rs 0.98 for diesel.”

Although CNG works out much cheaper in the long run, the only area where auto experts and consumers have a problem is the availability as there are not many refueling CNG stations in the city and there are virtually none outside the metros.

Cars, courts, and the row over emissions and pollution

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