General Motors plans LPG, CNG vehicles

NEW DELHI, June 13 (UPI) -- India's private major General Motors India said it is working on LPG and CNG variants for at least three models of vehicles.

P. Balendran, vice president (corporate affairs) of the company, said compressed natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas experiments are being carried out on the compact car Chevrolet Spark; upper premium compact segment car Chevrolet Aveo U-VA; and midsize car Chevrolet Aveo.

"We have been working on alternative fuel technology for some time, and the recent fuel price hike has expedited the process," he said, while declining to comment on the launch date. Balendran said it is too early to talk about the date of launch as certain tests and trials are to be done.

The Chevrolet Spark, the popular small car from the GM stable, will be the first model among the three to be run on alternative fuel. The LPG version of the Spark is reportedly in the final stage of development. Even if the company has not assigned any deadline, alternative variants of all three models are expected to hit the market within a year, The Business Line newspaper reported Friday.