Volkswagen Thinks Compressed Natural Gas Will Be Next Fuel Revolution

VolkswagenVolkswagenGermany, 1938 > present98 models
9654 photos
31 videos
believes that compressed natural gas could be the biggest revolution in European cars since it introduced TDI diesel engines in 1989. Its plan is to have one CNG engine in each of its model lines for each new car it releases.

It has branded its CNG-fueled engines TGI, and they can run on CNG and gasoline. The GolfVolkswagen Volkswagen Golf Gen.7 [VII]Germany, 2012 > present363 versions
458 photos
TGI BlueMotion was the first car to get the new branding, and the Golf Variant TGI BlueMotion will follow later this fall.

The next VW CNG models will be the next generations of the PassatVolkswagen PassatGermany, 1973 > present8 series
305 versions
553 photos
3 videos
and PoloVolkswagen PoloGermany, 1975 > present6 series
310 versions
538 photos
5 videos
when they begin using the MQB platform.

The advantage of CNG is that it has about 25% lower CO2 emissions when burnt compared to gasoline. CNG could help automakers hit the EU’s 95g/km of CO2 emissions mandate by 2020. Also, developing a CNG-burning engine is cheaper than creating a hybrid because the CNG engines are based on current gasoline engines. 

Its major downside is that if the methane is released unburnt into the atmosphere, it has 25 times the greenhouse effect of CO2.

CNG-fueled cars are still a small niche in Europe with a 0.7% market share. According to JATO Dynamics, 36,618 CNG-fueled cars have been sold in Europe in the first five months of the year, but that is compared to 29,901 CNG models in the first five months of 2012.

The bestselling CNG models in Europe are the Panda and PuntoFiat Punto 1.4 Bi-Fuel EasyItaly, 2012 > present1 photo
, but the Volkswagen UpVolkswagen up! 1.0 move u...Germany, 2012 > present7 photos
is the third-highest selling.

Source: Automotive News Europe