Natural Gas Vehicles to Reach 3.2 Million per Year by 2016

Natural gas vehicles have adopted an ascending trend all over the world, so there should be no surprise that their number is expected to reach new milestones in the next few years. A report conducted by Pike Research predicts that worldwide sales of natural gas vehicles will grow from 1.9 million units per year to more than 3.2 million units by 2016. Is that possible?

Researchers claim it is. Mostly because they expect refueling stations for this particular type of vehicles will grow from 18,000 in 2010 to around 26,000 in 2016, a figure that's likely to be enough for the whole industry of NGVs at that time.

"Corporate and government fleets are the strongest adopters of natural gas vehicles," says senior analyst Dave Hurst. "Not only will this trend continue, but in fact fleet sales will increase as a percentage of all NGV sales, representing two-thirds of the total market by 2013. More and more fleet managers are attracted to the lower fuel costs of natural gas, in addition to the opportunity to reduce their vehicles "carbon footprint."

This can only be regarded as good news for carmakers who are continuously injecting money into this kind of vehicles and, as far as some are concerned, getting more and more fueling stations is the only thing they need. Honda for example intends to offer a natural gas configuration for its new Civic in all 50 states in America, with sales to begin later this year.

"The Civic is known for providing a balance of 'just-right' packaging, fun-to-drive character and outstanding fuel economy, at a price that even first-time buyers can afford. The redesigned Civic builds on this legacy and promises to be the best Civic yet," stated John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda, when the company unveiled the new Civics at the 2011 NAIAS.