Natural Gas Vehicles Making Inroads
From Yahoo Finance
Ford Motor Co said on Tuesday it sold a record 11,600 natural gas vehicles last year, more than four times the number it sold two years ago.
It’s the latest sign that natural gas is making inroads as a transportation fuel, particularly for truck fleets, buses and taxis. The consumer market is tougher to crack, but sales are gaining there as well.
Natural gas is cheap and plentiful in the US after a spike in production that began in the middle of last decade. At the same time, the price of petrol and diesel fuel has jumped more than 30 per cent.
That makes natural gas – which also emits fewer greenhouse gases – an increasingly attractive option for truck companies and municipalities.
But while natural gas may be a good choice for snow plows and trash trucks, which go relatively short distances and can refuel at city-owned pumps, it’s a tougher call for ordinary consumers. Natural gas cars cost more and there are few public places to refuel them. Those issues need to be addressed if the vehicles are to significantly boost their share of the auto market, which is currently less than 1 percent.
