Toyota to Launch CNG Variants of Corolla & Innova in India
01 December 2007
Economic Times. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) will launch CNG fuel variants of its premium sedan Corolla and multi-utility vehicle Innova soon.
The Corolla and Innova will be the first ever CNG fuel based offering by the Japanese major in the world. The company is currently testing various types of CNG kits on these models at its Bangalore based facility and the formal launch of these variants are expected sometime in December. The new kits for CNG are being supplied by Minda Auto Gas, which is also the original equipment supplier to Hyundai for its flagship car Santro and Maruti Suzuki for its LPG based WagonR Duo.
TKM deputy MD K K Swamy confirmed that the company is looking for the right CNG fuel options. “We are currently studying the options that can be strapped on both these models,” Mr Swamy said. TKM is expected to launch these CNG variants in Delhi and Mumbai, where CNG gas is currently available. That will followed by launches in other CNG-compliant cities like Surat and Agra.
By 2020, India will be running >50% of its vehicles on CNG….its inevitable given that India has found lots of natural gas, we are set for high oil prices and CNG is 25% better than petrol re global warming!
Given that biomethane is also easy to make from crops, why bother with anything else?
Toyota seeing this perhaps…
Regards
JOhn
Posted by: John Baldwin | 01 December 2007 at 04:11 AM
What an incredibly ill-informed post. There is no way to make natural gas from biomass feedstock that is economically competitive. The capital costs per unit of output makes it a money-losing investment. Furthermore, I imagine if you wanted to build plants to facilitate anaerobic digestion or syngas production (and if you did syngas coal would be a cheaper feedstock) you would need to employ every industrial construction worker in the United States to even replace a small portion of natural gas consumption.
Posted by: Michael | 01 December 2007 at 08:31 AM
"By 2020, India will be running >50% of its vehicles on CNG…."
No way this world makes it that far. Can't we just accept - the whole planet is a lost cause. Inevitable apocalypse. Wring your hands and then sit on 'em.
Posted by: Sulleny | 01 December 2007 at 10:56 AM
Michael,
I am embarrassed to read your posting, had I written it, I would be ashamed. You are way off the pace I'm afraid.
Take a look at
http://www.biogasmax.eu/downloads
And this:
http://biopact.com/2007/08/germany-considers-opening-natural-gas.html
And this
http://www.eon-ruhrgas.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-3F57EEF5-E58377AD/er-corporate/hs.xsl/4197.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en
Then see the cars...
http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/content/en/sustainability_and_responsibility/Umwelt/Antriebstechnologien/Erdgasfahrzeuge.html
Wake up
Posted by: John Baldwon | 01 December 2007 at 11:09 AM
Michael,
Methane (95% of natural gas) can be synthesized much easier (fewer steps) and much more efficient from biomass, coal, or any other feedstocks, in comparison to ethanol, or synthetic liquid hydrocarbon via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. As far as renewable-energy fuels is concerned, methane and hydrogen is the way to go. Methane for now, since we have a lot of CO2 from the exhaust of electrical generation to make methane (CH4) from H2 and CO2. In the far future, hydrogen will be the way to go.
Posted by: Roger Pham | 01 December 2007 at 01:28 PM
Methane can be gasified from biomass economically. Once North America begins to run out of NG in the next few years, we may see much more of this.
Posted by: sjc | 05 December 2007 at 11:54 AM