CNG News: 12th December 2008

Thailand: Tata Unveiled the Xenon Super CNG at Motor Expo

Tata Motors of Thailand launched the Xenon Super CNG pickup truck at Bangkok International Motor Expo 2008. The Tata Xenon Super CNG is Thailand’s first pickup truck with a factory-installed 100-per cent CNG system. It offers one of the better energy-saving options available in Thailand and therefore one of the more cost-effective alternatives for the Thai customer. The Xenon Super CNG X-tend Cab CLE is being introduced at a special price of ฿ 519,000. Speaking on the introduction of this first-of-a-kind pickup vehicle, Ajit Venkataraman, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Motors, said, “We are very pleased to be a part of Thailand’s automobile industry and to provide options to Thai customers that are both innovative and distinctive. Tata Motors’ pickup trucks are designed keeping in mind the requirements of pickup vehicle customers - low operating cost through low fuel consumption and low cost of maintenance. Vehicles that use alternative fuels, especially compressed natural gas (CNG) like the Tata Xenon Super CNG, are going to be more advantageous as the government’s policy is to maintain CNG price to at least half of the price of diesel. We are confident that customers will find the Xenon Super CNG a vehicle of their choice.” The Xenon Super CNG comes with a 2.1 litre, DOHC multi-point injection engine with a maximum output of 115 hp and a maximum torque of 175 nm at 3,750 rpm. Its CNG system and components are state-of-the-art. The gas line is from Sandvik (Germany) and Swagelok (USA), the cylinder valve is from OMB (Italy) and the ECU processes data through various Bosch (Germany) and Valeo (France) sensors. Compression ratio of the engine is appropriate for CNG. This ensures that combustion in the engine is always smooth. In addition, the engine is durable, fuel efficient and easy to maintain. Target customers for Xenon Super CNG are both individual customers who use pickup vehicles for transporting goods on fixed routes, and also big companies which have very high fuel expenses. It can help them cut their operating costs by up to 30 to 50 per cent.