The world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle has hit 50,000 retail sales in India since its July 5, 2024 launch. The Bajaj Freedom 125, which is an affordable, greener alternative to petrol-engined two-wheelers, has seen steady growth particularly in markets with strong CNG infrastructure. Maharashtra, where 9,591 units have been sold, is the state with the highest sales, followed by Gujarat with 8,747 units.
18 Mar 2025 | 1388 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
The Bajaj Freedom 125, the world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle, has crossed 50,000-unit retail sales in the domestic market, as per the latest data from the Vahan portal (March 18, 2025, 9am). Launched on July 5, 2024, the Bajaj Freedom 125 has taken less than 9 months – eight months and ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
The Bajaj Freedom 125, the world’s first CNG-powered motorcycle, has crossed 50,000-unit retail sales in the domestic market, as per the latest data from the Vahan portal (March 18, 2025, 9am). Launched on July 5, 2024, the Bajaj Freedom 125 has taken less than 9 months – eight months and 12 days to be precise – to hit the 50,000-units milestone. Total sales from launch till March 17, 2025 are 50,047 units.
As per the retail sales data table above, the Freedom 125’s best sales months have been the festive months of October 2024 (11,076 units) and November 2024 (12,159 units), which together account for 46% of the total sales till date. Sales in December 2024 (5,658 units) were substantially down on the previous two months but that can be put down to consumers deferring new vehicle purchases to the new year (CY2025). January 2025 sales rose marginally to 5,740 units but dropped 28% month on month to 4.121 units in February. In the first 17 days of March 2025 a total of 1,965 Freedom 125s have been sold.
The Freedom 125 was initially launched in only two states – Maharashtra and Gujarat – which have strong CNG filling infrastructure. Since then, the company has considerably expanded the Freedom 125’s availability across India including Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns where the CNG filling infrastructure is gradually growing.
The company is banking on the speedy expansion of the CNG filling infrastructure across the country, currently estimated to be around 7,000 stations and billed to more than double to over 13,000 stations over the next couple of years and around 17,000 by 2030, to drive sales.
However, with Maharashtra proposing an additional 1% motor vehicle tax on CNG-powered vehicles (for personal use) from April 1, 2025, it is likely that demand for the Bajaj Freedom 125 might see a slowdown in the state, which is among the leading buyers of two-wheelers as well as the No. 1 state for electric two-wheeler sales. Nevertheless, value-conscious buyers keen on wallet-friendly commuting should take that hike in their stride in the long term.
MAHARASHTRA IS NO. 1 BUYER OF BAJAJ FREEDOM 125
Of the 50,047 Bajaj Freedom 125s sold across India to date, Maharashtra with 9,591 units and a 19% share is the No. 1 state where the CNG-powered motorcycle has been bought. Gujarat, with 8,797 units, is second and has a 17% share of total sales. What has helped these accelerate demand in these two states is the fact that the eco-friendly motorcycle was first launched there.
Uttar Pradesh (5,428 units), Madhya Pradesh (4,647 units), Karnataka (3,540 units) and Rajasthan (3,276 units) are ranked third, fourth, fifth and sixth in Freedom 125 ownership, respectively. They are followed by Delhi (3,160 units), Bihar (2,404 units), Haryana (2,289 units) and Tamil Nadu (2,147 units). These Top 10 states together account for 45,279 units or 90% of all the Freedom 125s sold in India to date.
NOT EXPLOSIVE BUT STEADY GROWTH: BAJAJ AUTO'S RAKESH SHARMA
When Bajaj Auto launched the world’s first CNG motorcycle last year, it was felt that given the uniqueness of the product as well as the wallet-friendly fuel compared to costlier petrol, sales would take off. However, the market reality is somewhat different.
In a conference call after the FY2025 Q3 results in end-January 2025, Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director, Bajaj Auto said: “Customer adoption is good with the product delivering all benefits as was conceptualized, designed and manufactured. We have expanded the range with one more variant making it a portfolio of three, which should cover all segments of users from gig workers to long-distance personal users. We have seen a relatively faster adoption in areas where pump density is high like say, Delhi and Kerala, for example, and seen penetration rates go beyond 10% of the 125cc segment in such areas. In other areas, with customers where the per-day usage levels are less and the savings in rupees per month is less, the adoption is lower as customers generally seek further validation of benefits.”
He continued, “So, we don't see an explosive growth. It started explosively, but now with a decent word of mouth stepping in, we see a steady step-by-step growth. We are going to accelerate this growth by having a whole lot of engagement, both in terms of communication and direct engagement with customers on the ground and familiarize them with this. We are also attacking some of the high-usage cohorts like gig workers through some of the quick commerce, e-commerce and the fleet operator, these are cohorts who are even riding up to 200, 250 kilometres a day. And we are going to be focusing on them. So, there is a whole lot of market development work. We feel very confident to undertake this market development work because the basic acceptance of the product is there. Now we have to dismantle the wait-and-watch attitude of the larger majority of customers, which will happen hopefully, over a period of time.”
AFFORDABLE, GREENER ALTERNATIVE TO PETROL 2Ws
The ground-up-developed Bajaj Freedom 125 is a motorcycle that is capable of running on both CNG and petrol and is pitched as an alternative to similar-category petrol-engined commuter motorcyles, which rely on being tanked up on expensive petrol priced at Rs 103.49 (as of March 18, 2025 in Mumbai). It is sold in three variants, starting with the NG04 Drum (Rs 95,000), NG04 Drum LED (Rs 105,000) and NG04 Disc LED (Rs 110,000, ex-showroom Mumbai).
Bajaj Auto claims the Freedom 125 lowers operating costs by up to 50% when compared to similar ICE motorcycles, which translates into a very wallet-friendly Rs 1 per kilometre. The CNG tank provides a range of over 200 kilometres on just 2kg of CNG. Additionally, the bike’s 2-litre petrol tank acts as a range extender, offering over 130km of range in the event of the CNG tank emptying out.
This dual-fuel capability gives the rider a combined range of 330km. The Freedom 125, as per Autocar India tests, delivered mileage of 94km/kg in the city and 126km/kg on the highway. Meanwhile, the fuel efficiency when running on petrol was predictably a lot lower – 53.4kpl in the city and 62.37kpl on the highway. On the emissions front, compared to petrol-engined bikes, the Freedom 125 emits 26.7% less CO2, 85% lower NMHC’s (non-methane hydrocarbons) and 43% less NOx (nitrogen oxide).
High on safety, the Freedom 125 has successfully passed 11 rigorous safety tests, including impact tests, as well as a truck-run-over test. Earlier this year, the Bajaj Freedom 125 bagged the Autocar Bike of the Year 2025 award, impressing the jury with its innovation, value, usability and cost-effectiveness.
ALSO READ:
Maharashtra tops CNG vehicle sales in current fiscal with 20% share
CNG car, SUV sales soar to 715,000 units in CY2024, Maruti Suzuki share at 72%, Tata at 16%