Nissan Launches CNG Option for Magnite: Affordable Retrofit Kit Now Available

Nissan India is putting all its bets on its lone warrior in the market — the Magnite. Without any other model currently moving sales, Nissan's new strategy is to make the Magnite even more economical to run by launching a government-approved CNG retrofit kit with a warranty and lower operating costs in mind.

Rather than spend on costly R&D for a factory-installed CNG variant, Nissan has taken the more affordable route — similar to partner Renault. The firm is now selling a CNG retrofit kit for ₹74,999, the same Renault charges for comparable kits on cars such as the Kwid, Triber, and Kiger.

The CNG conversion kits are designed and maintained by third-party vendor Motozen, which also undertakes installation and provides a 3-year or 1 lakh km warranty (whichever occurs earlier). With this step, Nissan's sub-compact SUV becomes even more attractive to price-sensitive customers in search of alternatives to increasing fuel prices.

This CNG kit is available only for the 1.0L naturally aspirated petrol trims of the Magnite that have a 5-speed manual gearbox. The turbo petrol and automatic trims won't receive this option, at least not yet — again following Renault's CNG launch plan.

Nissan is launching the retrofit kit in phases. Under Phase 1, the company is taking bookings through authorized dealerships in seven states - Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. Under Phase 2, expansion will be in more states and union territories.

But there are no officially confirmed performance or mileage figures, so customers will have to make do with the promise of lower running costs as opposed to absolute figures.

Referring to the decision, Saurabh Vatsa, MD of Nissan Motor India, said:

"The New Nissan Magnite has been an incredible product for us and driven the success story in India. Looking to address the needs of the customers, Nissan Dealers will offer an alternative fuel choice in the form of a government-sanctioned CNG retrofitment kit that will be done at the authorized fitment centres for the customers. We believe that this step will further boost the popular compact SUV's value proposition and usability."