The Naza Group has come up with two prototype NGVs that should be of interest to taxi operators and commercial users, and perhaps, private vehicle owners as well. The Naza Group has come up with two prototype NGVs that should be of interest to taxi operators and commercial users, and perhaps, private vehicle owners as well.
Torque: cng interest from naza - local automaker unveils the new ria and citra prototype ngv models. The Ria and Citra NGVs, which have been developed and successfully tested by Naza’s own R&D team, were unveiled at a preview for taxi operators and media representatives at Naza Auto Mall in Petaling Jaya last week.
It is learned that a local company would help Naza convert the standard Ria and Citra being produced at Naza Automotive Manufacturing’s Gurun plant in Kedah into NGVs.
Naza believes taxi operators would see the wisdom of using Ria and Citra NGVs because compressed natural gas (CNG) is much cheaper than petrol.
Besides, NGVs are friendly to the environment.
Also relevant is the fact that the government wants to see more comfortable taxis introduced during this Visit Malaysia Year.
The only snag is the limited number of gas refuelling stations, with only 41 outlets offering CNG in Peninsular Malaysia at present, 32 of them in the Klang Valley.
In any case, the NGVs can still run on petrol if they run out of gas.
According to reliable sources that the NGVs could cost RM8,000 more than the petrol-powered versions, including the installation of CNG cylinder tanks.
By Naza’s R&D team’s own calculation, a typical taxi owner can recoup this additional outlay within as short a period as six months.
The current on-the-road prices of the petrol-powered Naza Ria 2.5L are RM105,555 (SE) and RM99,975 (GS), respectively, while prices for Naza Citra 2.0L are RM82,794 (GLS) and RM77,781 (GS), respectively.
Article Source: The Malay Mail by Sharif Haron