Upcoming Tata Tiago, Tigor and Punch spotted testing before official launch

The wait for CNG-powered cars from Tata Motors finally seems to be getting over, as they have been spied under test runs in the Nilgiri Hills region in Tamil Nadu. Rushlane has shared some of the spy shots of completely camouflaged Tiago, Tigor and Punch, which are believed to be running on factory-fitted CNG kits. 

Currently, the Tata Tiago, Tigor and Punch are available solely with a 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine, which makes 86 bhp of power and 113 Nm of torque. The factory-fitted kits are expected to make these engines capable of running on both petrol and CNG. However, expect the engine to witness a drop in power and torque figures. At the same time, these cars are expected to return a fuel efficiency of 22-25 km/kg, which will significantly bring down the running costs of the vehicles. Unlike the petrol-only versions of these cars which also get the option of a 5-speed AMT, the CNG versions will get only a 5-speed manual gearbox.

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CNG-powered cars are witnessing a significant demand in the Indian market in recent times, considering the rising prices of petrol and diesel in the country. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have already cemented their position in the segment of CNG-powered cars. While Maruti Suzuki has strengthened its leadership in the compact car space with the CNG versions of Alto, S-Presso, WagonR, Eeco and Ertiga, Hyundai also isn’t far behind with the CNG-powered Santro, Grand i10 Nios and Aura. 

Tata Motors will keep adding to the CNG line-up

Tata Motors will first launch the Tiago CNG and Tigor CNG, which will directly compete with WagonR CNG, Santro CNG and Aura CNG in their respective segments. The Tata Punch CNG is expected to arrive at a later stage, which will compete with the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios CNG and the upcoming Swift CNG. All these cars will be available only in the lower or mid-spec variants to keep the costs in check. 

After launching the CNG-powered versions of the Tiago, Tigor and Punch, Tata Motors might come up with Altroz CNG and Nexon CNG if the demand meets the expectations set by Tata Motors for these cars. Tata Motors was eyeing the CNG market for a long time. However, the shortage of semiconductor ships and the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the Indian carmaker’s plan.

While the official confirmation for these CNG-powered cars is yet to be announced from the end of Tata Motors, many of its authorized dealerships have already started taking unofficial bookings for these cars. It indicates that the launch of these CNG variants is just around the corner. In recent times, Tata Motors has been following a tradition of launching new cars or variants in the first month of the calendar year, and these CNG-powered variants might be the surprise it will pull for January 2022.

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