Maruti, Tata are caught between conflict, EV delays, and emission rules. They found an unlikely fix

India's carmakers are staring down a deadline. 

In less than a year, new emission norms will require them to dramatically cut their carbon output — or pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines. Electric vehicles were supposed to be the answer. But the batteries aren't ready, the infrastructure isn't there, and adoption has been slower than anyone predicted.

So the industry has quietly pivoted to an unlikely stopgap: CNG. Tata, Maruti, and Hyundai are all betting on it. In fact, two in every five Maruti cars sold last year ran on the fuel.

But a stopgap is still just a stopgap.

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