According to a new report from Navigant Research, worldwide sales of medium and heavy duty vehicles (MHDVs) running on alternative fuels, including natural gas, LPG and electricity, will reach 14 percent of MHDVs total sales by 2035. This growth is due to less expensive alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. In addition, Visiongain provides another report that indicates that the global commercial natural gas vehicle sales will reach 1.1 million in 2014.
“Attractive business cases for medium and heavy duty alternative fuel vehicles are emerging across varying segments of the market,” said Scott Shepard, research analyst with Navigant Research. “Natural gas has a significant advantage over most alternative fuels, in that low fuel costs and advances in infrastructure for both liquefied natural gas and fast-fill compressed natural gas make the fuel competitive in all market segments, including heavy duty long-haul trucking.”
The total number of MHDVs in use worldwide will nearly double between 2014 and 2035, according to the report. Unlike light duty vehicles, most of today’s MHDVs are fueled by diesel fuel. While diesel will remain the primary fuel choice of MHDVs throughout the forecast period, the percentage of MHDVs powered by diesel is expected to fall from more than 79 percent in 2014 to 76 percent in 2035.
Moreover, Visiongain’s analysis indicates that this market represents high potential and it is expected to record significant growth in the second period of the 2014-2024 forecast as investment in new CNG and LNG stations will help overcome the lack of a fueling infrastructure and capitalize on the beneficial NG-to-gasoline price ratio. Additionally, the increased NGV model supply by OEMs will enable both reduction in the conversion cost and enhanced ownership especially in the heavy duty truck segment.
Source: Navigant Research / Visiongain
