THE Government has issued its clearest and strongest commitment to the long-term viability of liquefied petroleum gas as a road fuel, claiming that fleets which are not considering LPG-powered vehicles are 'living in the past'.

Transport Minister David Jamieson made the claims at the opening of Britain's 1,000th LPG station in Charlton, South London. He also unveiled a £1million package of measures to promote the fuel.

Speaking exclusively to Fleet News, he said: 'I would say to fleet managers: look at the bottom line. LPG makes sense. Any fleet manager that has not spotted that is out of date.

'If you are a fleet manager, you should be looking closely at the environmental and noise benefits, and the huge economic benefits. What you will get is a substantial reduction in costs.'

His colleague Brian Wilson, Energy and Industry Minister, also attended the opening of the 1,000th site, and reinforced the Government's pro-LPG stance.

'LPG is widely available across the country and, thanks to a low level of duty, is nearly half the price of diesel and petrol,' he said. 'There are particular saving to be made where motoring costs are higher than the national average. I encourage fleet managers to take advantage of the cost savings available and adopt LPG vehicles.'

In a further boost to the LPG industry, Wilson announced a £1 million package of measures to promote the fuel through publicity, grants for garages to become approved converters, and work with manufacturers to increase the number of cars available.

Vauxhall, Ford, Volvo and Daewoo produce limited numbers of LPG powered vehicles, but Wilson was keen to see more car makers follow their lead, asking manufacturers 'to invest in technology, to ensure that LPG vehicles maintain their place in the market as cleaner alternatives to petrol and diesel.

He said: 'Everyone is a winner in this. There will be future developments in fuel technology, but LPG is the bird in the hand.'

Three years ago there were just 150 LPG stations in the UK, but there are likely to be 1,400 by the end of this year.

Jamieson claimed this proliferation of sites would help the residual values of gas-fuelled cars. 'Now the 1,000th station has opened, the resale price of cars will be better. In two or three years' time, consumers will want these cars,' he said.

And he revealed Government forecasts that the number of alternatively-fuelled vehicles on UK roads will double to 100,000 within two years.

'There are currently estimated to be around 50,000 LPG vehicles in the UK. Motorists are converting to LPG at an increasing rate by about 25,000 per year,' said Jamieson. The LPG industry has enjoyed a good couple of weeks - recent Fleet News Fleet Panel research found 44% of fleet decision-makers see a viable future for LPG on their fleets.

  • What do you think of Jamieson's comments? Email your views to fleetnews@emap.com