Natural gas is used in over 112,000 vehicles in the United States (less than 0.1 percent of total vehicles) and more than 13 million vehicles worldwide¹. While natural gas use for motor vehicles is limited, it is projected to rise due to its abundance, affordability and low emissions. Currently, the largest users of natural gas in vehicles are high mileage fleets with access to central refueling – such as transit buses, delivery services, waste collection and corporate fleets. Interest in greater use of natural gas for motor vehicles has increased as the cost of natural gas at the pump has fallen significantly below that of gasoline or diesel fuel making the full cost of owning and operating natural gas vehicles more competitive.

Over the longer term, natural gas may serve the vehicle market in other ways. We could see the broader use of efficient all-electric or hybrid-electric vehicles as battery and vehicle technologies improve. Plug-in hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles (PHEVs) may be a more viable alternative due to the lower cost of integration with existing charging and fueling infrastructure and the ability to expand supply infrastructure incrementally as the technologies mature. Bi-fuel engines, which use gasoline and compressed natural gas (CNG), are also an option. Natural gas can also be converted to a range of liquid fuels or hydrogen and used to power motor vehicles. These alternative applications are not currently economic with today's technologies, capital costs and fuel prices.

¹ Natural Gas Vehicle Association, Sept. 2011 www.ngvc.org