Bajaj Auto, the Indian industrial partner of Triumph, stated that it expects to announce its first compressed natural gas-powered motorcycle in 2024. According to Indian manufacturer Bajaj, a CNG-powered motorcycle is expected to be launched this year.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, which builds the Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X, said that a CNG-powered motorcycle would have to be affordable to the general public and that Bajaj’s first motorcycle using CNG would be ready to be announced before the end of 2024, with a launch planned for 2025.
The Indian motorcycle market “is divided by engine capacity,” Bajaj said, “with the most popular being 100-125cc and 150-160cc models. Therefore, we believe that a CNG motorcycle should appeal to consumers at each of these three engine capacity points, allowing us to build a portfolio, rather than just a motorcycle of a specific engine capacity.”
CNG stands for “Compressed Natural Gas,” which, like hydrogen, requires the installation of a high-pressure cylinder on the motorcycle to store the gas. These reservoirs need to be cylindrical to equalize the pressure throughout their interior and typically take up more space than a gasoline tank on a conventional gasoline motorcycle. That being said, one of the advantages of CNG as an alternative to fossil fuels is that existing internal combustion vehicles can be converted to run on CNG, producing fewer emissions.
