“Average kya hai?” is an oft-repeated query from motorists in India, be it two-wheelers or four-wheelers, a two-wheeler commuter or even a luxury car. Yes, the country’s obsession with more kilometres for each rupee spent is driving automakers to experiment with new technologies aimed at more mileage for every litre of petrol. Holistically, this in turn is driving a ‘green’ movement of developing fuel-sipping machines.
While the electric two-wheeler market is improving in terms of better technology and awareness, if not sales volumes, these battery operated vehicles, along with their hybrid counterparts, are far from becoming a part of mainstream commuting.
Meanwhile, all leading two-wheeler manufacturers are putting their shoulder to the wheel to make their petrol-engined commuters greener and cleaner for the environment. They are looking to achieve this through technological upgrades at various research and development stages and vehicle weight reduction programs, among other things.
Some of the recent examples would be Hero MotoCorp’s i3S (stop-start) system, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s HET (Honda Eco Technology) technology, Bajaj Auto’s digital twin-spark, TVS Motor Co’s DuraLife and CVT-i engines, Yamaha’s Blue Core technology, and Suzuki Motorcycle’s Suzuki Eco Performance (SEP).
While these technologies are in no way connected to alternate fuels, they still contribute, each in their own way, to improved fuel efficiency. Two-wheeler industry experts say that the existing combustion technologies offer a wide scope for improving the fuel burning process, and thereby boosting efficiency.