Hyundai and Gas Natural Fenosa form key alliance in the Colombian NGV market

“This is a partnership between Hyundai and Gas Natural Fenosa in collaboration with Ecopetrol for taxis to be built and converted to CNG already at factory, giving the end user a factory warranty, because that’s the key issue: to be able to offer safety straight from the OEM headquarters,” explained René Perea, Gas Natural Fenosa commercial director, according to an article published yesterday by El Espectador newspaper.

This partnership has set the goal of reaching at least 30-40 percent of public sector cars already converted to CNG at the production line (OEM NGV). Taxis have aftermarket warranty and are backed by Hyundai as a manufacturer, reported Santiago Gómez, who is vice president of Hyundai Colombia Automotriz. As a result of vehicle conversion, 1.88 million tons of CO2 emissions have been cut in the capital city of the country.

According to the report, 438,577 vehicles have been converted to run on natural gas in Colombia so far, while Bogota is the area with the largest number of NGVs (143,231 vehicles, i.e. 33% of the national total).

Other brands like Hyundai are taking part in NGV projects: Kia, Renault, Chevrolet and Mazda are among them.

It is worth recalling that the next NGV industry meeting will take place in the Colombian city of Cartagena. NGV2013 Colombia –Latin America’s major International Conference and Exhibition on Natural Gas Vehicles in 2013- arrives at a promising time for the local market, which has a number of such initiatives already in progress seeking to consolidate the business expansion.