Tata Motors yesterday unveiled long distance CNG-run buses in Bangladesh as local transport operators are shifting to CNG-based commercial vehicles.
“We have developed the version eyeing market potential,” said N Ramchandran, country manager of Tata Motors.
Tata's TATA LPO-1510 CNG Long Distance Version bus chassis was unveiled at a function at organised by its distributor Nitol Motors at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka yesterday.
The demand for CNG-run vehicles such as buses are growing at a time when global oil price is has been surging and hit above $100 a barrel on March 11, 2008.
Tata Motors, which is now supplying Cummins CNG engine buses, has already supplied over 1100 buses in Bangladesh. Most of the buses ply mostly in Dhaka metropolitan areas.
“We have developed the version with the understanding that the number of CNG-run vehicles will rise in Bangladesh,” said Ramchandran, “We anticipate the market for 40-60-seater buses is growing between 20-25 percent on an average a year.”
Sudhakar Dalela, counsellor (Economic & Commercial) of Indian High Commission, and Sujoy Nag, senior resident representative of Tata International- Bangladesh, were also present at the function, chaired by Nitol Motors Managing Director Abdul Musabbir Ahmad.
The managing director of Nitol Motors said the new model bus's CNG cylinder storage capacity is 792 litres, enabling the vehicle to ply up to 500 kilometers.