Citroen has defended its move to introduce only one liquefied petroleum gas vehicle to its UK line-up of Xantia models. Even though one of the widest choices in LPG vehicles rolls from its parent company's production lines in France and Spain, Citroen UK national fleet sales manager David Coop revealed that a softly, softly approach had been decided for Britain.

'We are keen to show we take a serious view about this developing area of business, but we're approaching it in a cautious manner. This is a toe-in-the-water exercise,' he said. 'After a careful study of how the market is developing, we have based our entry on our best-selling fleet model, the Xantia 1.8i 16V LX. Rather than aiming for a specific sales target, our strategy will be to gauge how the car is received and respond accordingly.

'Despite being a smaller player in Britain than Vauxhall or Ford, Citroen holds a unique position with regard to LPG vehicle output and Citroen UK is well placed to make a significant increase in its LPG offer if we find sufficient demand exists.' A pioneer in the research and development of alternative power, Citroen was the first European manufacturer to offer a production-line dual-fuel vehicle several years ago.

Now, on the Continent, it lists a total of 23 products, from its Saxo supermini, Xsara hatchback and estate, Xantia saloon and estate and Berlingo van ranges with LPG equipment which is fitted during assembly. Badged Dual Fuel to emphasise that it can be operated solely on petrol in the event of poor LPG availability, the new version is being priced at £16,715 on-the-road. That pricing represents a £2,000 difference between the petrol-only version of the 1.8i 16V LX, but when the 75% Powershift rebate is taken into account, the gap between the two is just £500.