India to have 3 million LPG cars

According to the Indian Auto LPG Coalition (IAC), five years is all the market needs to reach the 3 million autogas-powered vehicles mark. It's getting there at a pace of 10-15 thousand vehicles converted each month, which means there are in fact 2,3 million autogas-powered cars, motorbikes and three-wheelers in India. With that said, the 3 million threshold doesn't appear so impressive anymore, especially given how huge the country is, but remember the market has gone from next to nothing to what it is today in just several years.

Due to nascent stage of electric vehicles, the scenario for LPG will be more positive. It throws more opportunity for Autogas today. Going forward, we can see 3 million vehicles running on LPG, if the government gives a clear roadmap on alternative cleaner fuels.

Suyash Gupta, Director General, Indian Auto LPG Coalition

© auto-gas.netIndia may have relatively few motor vehicles, but there are concentrations of them in cities and many are highly polluting, so autogas is much needed

LPG gains popularity in India for pretty much the same reasons as anywhere else – it's cleaner, greener and considerably cheaper, its price standing at roughly 50% of the prices of both petrol and diesel. And while cutting fuel bills is important in India, a developing economy, autogas' environmental record is significant, too – there was a 50% increase in air-pollution-related premature deaths between 1990 and 2015, so measures to improve air quality, especially those easy to implement, are more than welcome. And LPG is obviously one such measure – vehicles running on it emit by 68% less NO_X than their petrol equivalents and by 96% less than comparable diesels.

Like in many other countries, EVs are perceived as the ultimate solution to dirty air and high fuel costs. However, electric cars require costly infrastructure that cannot be developed overnight, they are themselves expensive and their popularity is further stunted by range anxiety issues related to insufficient battery capacity (they can only be used conveniently for city driving). Besides, EVs are not as environmentally friendly as they could seem – their manufacturing and disposal generates more pollution than they reduce by not spewing out any exhaust gasses, especially if electricity used to power them comes from burning coal. Autogas is a much better short-term solution. We hope and believe the 3 million mark is passed much quicker than in 2022.