CNG NEWS

CNG NEWS >> International >> ATFCAN, Mumbai Gold Cabs Partner to Equip New Taxis with Advanced CNG Kits

ATFCAN, Mumbai Gold Cabs Partner to Equip New Taxis with Advanced CNG Kits

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Mumbai, India

The President and CEO of Canadian group ATFCAN, Rodney Semotiuk, has announced a partnership between ATFCAN with Mumbai Gold Cabs Pvt. Ltd. As part of ATFCAN’s CNG India project, Mumbai Gold Cabs will supply 200 new Maruti Esteem and 50 new Tata Indigo Marina vehicles for conversion to compressed natural gas (CNG) operation, using conversion kits from ECO Fuel Systems, also of Canada. The ARAI-certified kits perform at Bharat III emissions levels standards, and will be installed by ACE Gas Conversions Pvt. Ltd. of Mumbai, in collaboration with ECO Fuel Systems.

Once converted, the 250 vehicles will comprise a fleet of high-end taxis, providing a new level of transportation service to the people of Mumbai while improving urban air quality and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The first group of converted new taxis are operational now with the balance of the cab conversions to be completed over the next 6 weeks.

To measure vehicle performance using the new conversion kits, fuel consumption, mileage, and levels of greenhouse gas emissions generated by each converted vehicle will be monitored over a 12-month period. Third party verification will provide comparative analyses between ECO Fuel Systems’ technology and other competitors’ products; approximately 60 of the 250 cabs will be tested for regulated emissions performance. Based on trial acceptance and life-cycle costing, CNG India aims to improve CNG product offerings in India. The project’s partners are currently examining the potential for localizing production of ECO’s innovative kits in India, and the establishment of dealer sales networks.

As expressed by ATFCAN President and CEO Rodney Semotiuk, “This conversion program marks an important milestone in our relationship with ECO Fuel Systems, ACE Gas Conversions and Mumbai Gold Cabs. Not only are we partnering to bring advanced taxi services to Mumbai but we are also bringing advanced CNG equipment to India.”

Speaking on behalf of Mumbai Gold Cabs, CEO Arun Sabnis stated “The new, advanced CNG kits will definitely add value to the brand new fleet of ours. This will also improve the engine quality and lower the maintenance cost and will help us serve the city in an efficient way. The end beneficiaries will be the drivers as they will optimize their earnings because of lower costs of maintenance.”

Principals from ACE Gas Conversions and ECO Fuel Systems also underlined the significance of this new partnership.

“The alternative fuel industry in India is in for a big revolutionary change by the introduction of the Sequential Injection kit system offered by the joint efforts of ATFCAN and ECO Fuel Systems, Canada. Just as ATFCAN and ECO Fuel Systems have introduced the state-of-the-art CNG equipment to the Indian customers, "ACE", who is responsible to carry out the conversion activities, will also support it by providing its best in terms of after sales service,” said Manoj Vithalani, Director of ACE Gas Conversions.
"This announcement represents an important achievement for ECO Fuel Systems' CNG technology, being able to partner in providing a new standard of efficient and reliable taxi service in Mumbai. It took Canada almost 20 years to move to this level of CNG conversion technology; now India has leapfrogged there in less than five!" said Markus Wenzel, Director of Marketing for ECO Fuel Systems. 

The conversion of the 250 taxis is part of ATFCAN’s CNG India project, a compressed natural gas technology transfer project developed by ATFCAN and supported by the Government of Canada through the Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) program at Natural Resources Canada.

Source: NGV Global