As domestic natural gas output reaches record levels, low prices are driving the purchase of CNG vehicles:
In a time when natural gas is relatively cheap, but manufacturers build mostly gasoline and diesel models, companies like AT&T and Verizon have calculated it's worth the expense to convert some gasoline vehicles to burn compressed natural gas (CNG).
Worldwide, natural gas vehicles make up a tiny sliver of the auto pie, accounting for just under one percent of all vehicles, according to 2010 data published by the trade association NGV Global. But in some parts of the world they're gaining popularity. AT&T announced last month that natural gas vehicles in its fleet now number 3,000, out of a total of more than 73,500 vehicles. By 2013, the company plans to increase the number of natural gas vehicles to 8,000.
And AT&T isn't alone. Between 2010 and 2016, the market research firm Pike Research predicts, global natural gas vehicle sales will grow by more than 9 percent year over year. Even some of the largest trucks on the road, such as long-haul UPS trucks, have been built to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), rather than expensive diesel. And according to Rich Kolodziej, president of the trade association Natural Gas Vehicles for America, a number of companies are close to certifying conversion systems that would power big rigs using about half natural gas and half diesel fuel.
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