Following the virtual collapse of the market for LPG-powered vans, compressed natural gas (CNG) looks set to take over as the next new viable alternative fuel for light commercial vehicles.

Both Mercedes-Benz and Iveco will be launching CNG-powered vans in the summer and there are plans ahead to make the fuel available to the general public via a new infrastructure.

Mercedes-Benz is launching a Sprinter powered by a 1.8-litre supercharged petrol engine, while Iveco will launch a Daily with a 3.0-litre diesel engine that has been adapted with a new cylinder head to run on bio-methane.

There will also be a small ‘get-you-home’ tank carrying 15 litres of petrol.

For an upfront price of £7,000 more than a conventional Daily, Iveco claims fleets can save up to £3,000 per vehicle per year on running costs, with lower fuel consumption and exemption from the London congestion charge.

Noxious gas emissions are significantly lower too.

Announcing the new Daily, Iveco product director Martin Flach said: “This vehicle won’t suit every fleet need as there is no infrastructure at present for refilling, but the Daily CNG will have a range of about 300 miles so there won’t be a problem for city-based fleets which return to base each day.”

To overcome the fact that CNG is not available at filling stations, Iveco has teamed up with bio-methane producer gasrec, a company which extracts the gas from council landfill sites.

Gasrec will install a bunkering facility for fleets free of charge and recoup the cost by a small surcharge per unit of fuel purchased.

One of the problems with CNG-powered vans is that at present they are likely to have a zero residual value as second buyers won’t be able to buy fuel.

But this could well change in the next three years.
Doug Leaf, development manager at gasrec, said: “As we provide more and more bunkering sites across the country we want to join up the dots and provide an infrastructure where other users can buy our fuel.

"Who knows – in three years time second-hand CNG powered vans may actually command a premium over diesel models.”