At the beginning, the aim is to focus on taxis fleet segment but the intention is to expand business offering CNG variants for private vehicles as well. “The only vehicles allowed to run on natural gas are the ones for commercial purposes, unless the unit is originally manufactured to use CNG. This project seeks to overcome that obstacle and will be developed gradually with leading brands and model,” general manager of Gazel Christian Díaz reported, according to online version of local Diario Financiero newspaper.
The company he represents is planning to set up two refueling stations during 2010, one in Santiago and another one in Valparaíso. In total, Gazel owns 11 dispensing points in both cities and Concepción but they expect to have 30 facilities in the medium term across the country.
Currently, there are many initiatives in Chile that pursue the implementation of CNG in transport fleet. In this sense, the national Transport Minister Felipe Morandé recently attended the presentation of 100 brand new CNG buses for the southern city of Punta Arenas.
