Carmakers step on green gas as petrol gets dear

The first reaction from customers when fuel prices rise is a shift to a smaller car. The next step is to switch to vehicles with alternative fuels. With 95 octane costing a worrying Bt38.59 a litre and more likely to rise in the near future, it is no wonder that sales of cars like the Chevrolet Optra CNG are on the rise.

The Optra has seen a 123-per-cent increase in sales year on year. Sales for last month were 164-per-cent higher than in January, creating overall growth of 33 per cent for Chevrolet. In the first four months of the year, 2,023 Optras were sold, of which 1,427 were of the compressed-natural-gas (CNG) type.

The mid-sized sedan comes with a factory-fitted CNG kit and a three-year/100,000 kilometre warranty.

Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) vice president of marketing and after sales John Thompson said: "Our concentration is to increase our manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for bi-fuel vehicles, such as our Optra CNG. These numbers clearly show an emerging trend that consumers are becoming more conscious of fuel economy and alternative technologies."

Chevrolet also launched a dual-fuel version of the Colorado CNG last month at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The 2.5-litre Colorado CNG operates on a dual fuel-injection system that runs on a mixture of 65-per-cent CNG and 35-per-cent diesel.

The Colorado CNG's 70-litre pressurised tank, the same size as the Optra CNG's, is positioned in the rear bed of the pickup. Although this robs the truck bed of loading space, Chevrolet believes customers will benefit from the fuel saving. The vehicle comes with full warranty, as well.

The Colorado CNG is available only in the extended- and single-cab versions. This is because Chevrolet expects it will be used for load-carrying purposes rather than as a passenger vehicle.

Sales for Chevrolet in the first four months have been 8,918 units, up from 6,715 in the same period last year, an increase of 32.81 per cent. The increase came mainly from the CNG version of the Optra and the Captiva sport-utility vehicle.

Apart from Chevrolet, Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) has also confirmed news of tests that the company is conducting on the CNG version of its Lancer sedan. The CNG kit will be fitted as an after-factory addition onto the 1.6-litre version of the Lancer but come with the full warranty. Toyota has also said the company is considering CNG versions of the Corolla Altis, especially for taxi fleets.

In the premium market, Mercedes-Benz has the E-Class NGT, which is also enjoying brisk sales. About half of all E-Class sales are of CNG versions. In all, 266 units of the E-Class NGT have been sold in the first four months of the year.

Although no official statement has been made about production, Indian auto-maker Tata also had the Tata Xenon CNG on display at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The Xenon on display fully ran on CNG, as opposed to a dual fuel mix, as seen in the Chevrolet Colorado CNG.

Ultimate in Luxury

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