Sales of LPG used for vehicles in India – two, three and four-wheelers- has seen a 16% increase between 1 October and 31 December 2016, according to a report from the Indian Auto LPG Coalition (IAC), a body gathering all relevant stakeholders in the country.

The coalition’s General Director Suyash Gupta saw the development as good news “because LPG is a cleaner fuel and helps reduce air pollution significantly”.

“Autogas is a low-hanging fruit and government must make use of this to make a tangible effect on air quality almost immediately. Most other cleaner fuels are still at a drawing board stage. Autogas now costs about 50% of the price of petrol, making it even cheaper than diesel,” said Gupta.

There are 1,100 LPG stations in 500 cities across India, more than 50% are owned by the public sector companies Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL while the rest are operated by private players. Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent states with Autogas penetration.

A recent study conducted by Marketing and Development Research Associates (MDRA) said Autogas can cheaply and quickly replace diesel and petrol in transport across the country as the fuel can be transported by tankers and sold through existing filling stations.

Rajiv Chohan, Vice President of IAC, also added: “With effects of global warming so apparent now, moving to cleaner fuels is not a choice anymore. Autogas is clean, efficient, easy to handle and offers significant economic benefits.”