Bajaj Auto, Triumph’s Indian industrial partner, has said that it expects to announce its first motorcycle powered by compressed natural gas in 2024. According to Indian manufacturer Bajaj, a CNG-powered motorcycle is due 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 accessible to the general public and that Bajaj’s first CNG-powered motorcycle will be ready to be announced before the end of 2024, with its launch expected in 2025.
The Indian motorcycle market “is divided into cylinder sizes”, said Bajaj, “the most popular being 100-125cc and 150-160cc. So we believe that a CNG motorcycle should appeal to consumers at each of these three cylinder points, which allows us to build a portfolio, rather than just one motorcycle of a particular cylinder.”
CNG stands for “Compressed Natural Gas”, which, like hydrogen, requires the installation of a high-pressure cylinder on the bike to store the gas. These tanks have to be cylindrical to equalize the pressure throughout and usually take up more space than a petrol tank found on a conventional petrol motorcycle. That 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.