Volvo Cars BeLux, which operates in Belgium and Luxembourg, recently announced the launch of its V60 bi-fuel car at the European Motor Show in Brussels. With compressed natural gas (CNG) technologies supplied by Westport, CO2 emissions are lowered from 149g/km to 38g/km.
“Using CNG brings several advantages including lower emissions, less engine wear due to reduced residue production, and lower fuel consumption compared to a traditional gasoline engine,” observed Wim Maes, Managing Director of Volvo Car Belux. “I am confident that the launch of this new product, the result of a successful partnership with Westport, will attract new customers to Volvo.”
The number of CNG vehicles on the roads in Belgium increased from 650 to 2,600 between December 2013 and December 2015, and further growth is expected. The country has 40 natural gas fuelling stations currently in operation, and plans to build a further 30 in 2016. Authorities in the Flemish region that lies in the North intend to build 300 stations by 2020 in order to increase its NG fleet to 40,000 vehicles.
Speaking to Automotive World, Thom Rippon, Executive Vice President, Global Engineering, Westport, described the significance of the model launch and his outlook for the future of NG in Europe.
