Electric cars and hybrids have been capturing the headlines regarding the future of America’s motor vehicles, but the next big thing could well be natural gas cars and trucks.
A recent poll by TechnoMetrica found that 70 percent of Americans are familiar with natural gas as a fuel for motor vehicles, and nearly half of those say they would consider buying a vehicle that runs on natural gas.
One compelling reason: Natural gas costs about $2 a gallon these days, compared to around $4 for gasoline.
Some 150,000 natural gas vehicles are already on the road in the U.S., mostly fleet autos and buses, and worldwide the number of those vehicles is expected to reach nearly 29 million by 2015, according to an editorial by Raghavan Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, in Investor’s Business Daily.
Mayur observes: “In the past, the industry slighted natural gas vehicles because the U.S. had a low supply of this fuel. Now, with the discovery of vast fields of natural gas deposits, which are estimated to last for the next 100 years, interest has ticked up. The automobile industry is starting to take notice of the merits of natural gas.”
Not only is natural gas abundant in the U.S., but a natural gas vehicle has fewer emissions than a gasoline-powered car, with lower levels of harmful byproducts — an important consideration due to new federal and state regulations that will compel vehicle manufacturers to lower emissions levels.
Natural gas vehicles will also reduce American dependence on foreign oil.
Vehicles running on natural gas cost more than gasoline-powered vehicles, and there are currently few refueling stations.
But natural gas vehicles for personal use are already being sold in New York, California, Utah and Oklahoma. Honda plans to sell its Civic GX natural gas vehicle nationwide by the end of next year, and Chrysler has announced that it will make natural gas vehicles in 2017, according to Mayur, who adds:
“The automotive industry needs to embark on a major educational effort to further educate the public to the advantages of natural gas and natural gas cars.”
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