car&bike Awards 2026: Maruti Suzuki Victoris’ Integrated CNG System Wins Innovation Of The Year

Maruti Suzuki’s new underbody integrated CNG system has won the carandbike Innovation of the Year award 2026. The new system debuted in the Victoris compact SUV, allowing users full access to the SUV’s boot without a CNG cylinder getting in the way. The previous innovation in the CNG passenger vehicle space had come from Tata Motors, which debuted its twin-cylinder tech back in 2023.

Compared to traditional CNG systems, requiring the fitment of a CNG cylinder in the boot, Maruti’s new system repositions the cylinder under the vehicle’s bodyshell, thus not compromising boot space - even Tata & Hyundai’s twin-cylinder CNG vehicles have reduced boot space due to the raised boot floor to accommodate the cylinders underneath.

The new system is also set to go into more Maruti Suzuki models going forward as well, with the upcoming Brezza facelift set to be one of these models.

As for the Victoris, the SUV launched in India in 2025 and is essentially a sister model to the Grand Vitara, sharing the same platform and powertrain options. A key difference is that the Victoris, for now, gets some additional features such as ADAS, which could be addressed with an upcoming facelift for the Grand Vitara, and it’s retailed via Maruti’s Arena dealer network. The Grand Vitara is a Nexa model.

As for the powertrain, buyers can opt for a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine and a 1.5 NA petrol strong hybrid. The former also gets a factory CNG option as well as optional AWD in the top trim.