SHELL Gas claims that fleets switching to liquefied petroleum gas from diesel power can save hundreds of pounds in operating costs of both cars and vans. Following the Budget, Shell Gas says LPG is now the cheapest road fuel on the market as a result of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's decision to freeze duty on gas as a road fuel and continuing increases in diesel duty.

The company says fleets with vehicles averaging 15,000 miles a year can cut running costs by 15-20% equating to a saving of 2p a mile for cars and vans over their diesel equivalents. Figures produced by the company for cars and vans operating on a four-year replacement cycle reveal that a typical fleet van, covering 30,000 miles a year, will deliver cost savings of up to £2,376 by switching from diesel to Shell auto-LP Gas (liquefied petroleum gas), and a typical fleet car will deliver a saving of up to £1,496.

As diesel vehicles cannot be converted to run on LPG the figures take into account the cost of converting a petrol-engined car or van to LPG. As a result the running costs include a £1,500 conversion cost for a van and a £1,200 cost for a car and have been based on a diesel van returning 30mpg and 18mpg when running on LPG and a diesel car returning 39mpg and 23mpg on LPG.

Pascal Rambaud, managing director, Shell Gas, said: 'It is clear that the Government is committed to encouraging increased use of liquefied petroleum gas. This confidence is now reflected in the decision to accelerate the development of Shell's Auto-LP Gas filling station network, to ensure that our product is more widely available to motorists.'