The Mahindra & Mahindra, which is a key utility vehicle manufacturer of India, on Thursday, July 17, introduced the CNG variant of its Bolero pick-up truck. It has done so to find its way around the steep fuel costs. The M&M Company has stated that the Bolero Pick-Up is the first CNG variant of a large pickup model. Mahindra is also presently making a hybrid diesel variant of its Scorpio. In the small three-wheeler segment it has got CNG variant of the Alfa, whereas in the large three-wheeler cargo category it has got Champion CNG.

‘CNG vehicles are known for very low operating cost (and) the government's increasing focus on developing CNG as a viable fuel will result in rapid growth of this segment,’ Mahindra said. The company further underscored that the reasons why CNG’s popularity will soar in future is not only because of increasing fuel costs, but also because CNG is available in all key cities across India. The price of petrol and diesel was hiked b y 10 per cent in India last month, which is the highest this decade. This has caused the auto-manufacturers to turn towards more fuel-efficient vehicles.