Petrol, Diesel or CNG: Which Used Car Does Mumbai Prefer?

Maharashtra has the largest used car market in India in 2024, accounting for 16.4 percent of overall sales. Most of this sales come from Mumbai, the financial capital of the city which not only shows a preference for premium used cars but also a healthy, measured response to petrol, diesel and even CNG-powered vehicles. 

Mumbai’s geography and population mean the coastal city often suffers from gridlocked traffic. Besides factors like body type and transmission preferences, fuel preferences are a big factor for buyers in the city looking to buy a used car. Here’s a detailed look into which fuel drives Mumbai’s used car scene and why.

Used Car Fuel Trends in Mumbai: Petrol Leads The Race

The CARS24 sales data and CARS 24 Gears of Growth report sheds light on Mumbai’s used car scene. Here’s what we found out. 
 

Key Takeaways From The Data

• Petrol cars constitute the majority of used cars sold in Mumbai. 
• As traffic is ever present in Mumbai, petrol vehicles are more preferred. 
• Sales of diesel vehicles remain steady despite increasing stringent emission norms.
• Mumbai shows a better adoption of used CNG vehicles, with a higher percentage of cars plying the roads compared to other cities. 
• The number of used CNG vehicles in Mumbai is growing as well. 

• Mumbai boasts one of the best CNG fuel filling networks in India, contributing to this growth.

   

Do Fuel Types Affect Resale Value In Mumbai?

Fuel types play a significant role in the resale value of a car. This begins with carmakers slowly phasing out diesel vehicles in favour of petrol and CNG vehicles. This trend is slowly spilling to second hand cars in Mumbai as well. 

• Despite carmakers phasing out diesel, the fuel remains popular in Mumbai’s used car scene leading to steady depreciation of diesel cars. 
• Petrol vehicles enjoy high resale value due to their continued demand and other factors such as refinement and low running costs. 
• Used CNG cars are gaining traction which further improves their resale value.
• Like other metros like Bangalore, automatic cars occupy a significant chunk of Mumbai’s used car ecosystem. 

• Majority of the used automatic cars have petrol powertrains which further enhance their resale value. 

   

Body Types and Fuel Types: The Correlation

Hatchbacks are the most popular used car body type in Mumbai followed by sedans and SUVs. That said, its demand for compact cars is waning while SUVs are gaining in popularity. 

Hatchbacks: 

New hatchbacks mostly come with petrol engines, while diesel and CNG options are rare. Used hatchbacks also support this trend, with a vast majority being petrol driven. That said compared to other cities, Mumbai sees a healthy ratio of CNG hatchbacks, the demand for which is rising. 

Sedans:

A majority of used sedans in Mumbai are petrol driven though diesel constitutes a sizeable chunk as well. This is due to significant diesel powered options in the sub-compact and mid-size sedans on sale. While used CNG sedans are quite few, the demand for them seems to be rising, eating away at petrol sales.

SUVs:

Diesels continue to dominate the used SUV market in Mumbai though demand is waning in favour of petrol SUVs. SUV sales also account for MPVs hence the larger percentage of CNG powered SUVs compared to other body types. However, like diesels, the demand for CNG SUVs has reduced as well.

Reasons behind used petrol vehicles being more popular in Mumbai?

There are a lot of interesting reasons behind petrol vehicles being popular in Mumbai. Here are some of the important ones:

• The most important reason is the petrol-powered vehicle’s low buying cost and maintenance costs.
• Petrol cars are more reliable and refined leading to hassle free and relaxed ownership as well. 
• A majority of automatic transmission cars are petrol driven making them the de facto choice while going in for a used automatic car. 
• Petrol is widely available in most parts of the country, which is not true for diesel or CNG fuels. 

Most Popular Used Cars in Mumbai, Fuel Wise:

While petrol remains the most popular fuel for used cars in Mumbai, the city has a surprisingly sizeable number of CNG vehicles, and this number is growing due to the city’s improved CNG infrastructure. Interestingly, the Honda City is the most popular used petrol powered car in Mumbai while the Mahindra XUV500 is the most popular diesel car and the Wagon R the most popular CNG. 

Petrol Cars:

Surprisingly, the Honda City is the most popular used petrol car in Mumbai. It goes on to show the refined taste of city car buyers. The other four cars on this list are hatchbacks. The fifth one is a premium hatchback, further cementing the observation about Mumbai’s used car preferences. 

Diesel Cars:

Mumbai’s used car buyer’s refined tastes show in the diesel segment as well with the Mahindra XUV400 being the most popular used diesel car. The fourth and fifth most popular cars, the Toyota Innova and Hyundai Verna, show this taste. They also highlight the spending power of the financial capital. 

CNG Cars:

The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R remains the most popular used CNG car sold in Mumbai followed by the Ertiga. As evidenced in other cities as well, Maruti Suzuki enjoys a monopoly in the CNG new and used car ecosystem. 

Mumbai, as the financial capital of India, shows high spending power in the used car market. It is also a place where aspiration rather than practicality, drives the used car sales. 

Conclusion

Despite the influx of alternate fuel sources like Electric and Hybrid vehicles, fossil fuels like petrol, diesel and CNG continue to remain mainstream. Although strict government regulations  are gradually effecting change, most of the impact currently centres around these three fuel types. 

Like other cities, the used car market in Mumbai is petrol driven as the fuel is easily available and petrol cars are cheaper to maintain. Diesel vehicles also occupy a sizeable chunk of the used car ecosystem and used diesel car sales are stable in Mumbai. 

The city has an impressive and rapidly growing number of used CNG cars. This is due to Mumbai’s strong CNG infrastructure. While it may not overthrow petrol dominance in Mumbai anytime soon, we could see the number of used CNG cars overtake diesel cars in the coming years.