Are Medium-Duty NGVs The Next Big Market?
Posted by admin on Nov. 19, 2014 / CNG, Clean Fuels Infrastructure, Case Studies, Emissions & Fuel Economy / Subscribe 0
The medium-duty market may be ripe for the picking for compressed natural gas (CNG) conversions, but defining the segment and potential customers among the estimated 8 million such vehicles on the road is an important challenge.
"It's the work truck market, with medium-duty being a sub-set that stops between the 22,000- to 24,000-pound ranges," says Stephe Yborra, director of market development for NGVAmerica and the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation. "How we define 'work truck' versus 'medium duty' is different because we can have light-duty work trucks, but when we say medium-duty, we are really talking classes four through seven."
The owners and operators of these medium-duty trucks are common on city streets.
"Many are businesses providing consumable goods and services, or commercial services," Yborra says. "It could be the local pest control or plumbing and heating [company], or the guy delivering fresh fruit, restaurant supplies and food."
This is where the medium-duty market begins to open up, according to Yborra.
"We have a lot of possibility with delivery vehicles because even though they are sticking to a specific area, there is significant fuel use," he says. "They are usually trucks that leave in the morning and then come back at night."
A home base of operations and daily routes are both qualifiers when determining which medium-duty fleets are potential customers for CNG conversion. When running shorter routes, a fleet will not have to rely on CNG refueling infrastructure outside its central location. However, having available infrastructure remains vital for getting most fleets on board, especially if they are looking at expanding.
Doyle Sumrall, managing director of NTEA, uses Columbus, Ohio, as an example. The city currently has two public-access fast-fill CNG stations that serve a variety of vehicles in the Columbus area, from bus and transit vehicles to short-haul, tractor-trailer rigs. Some vehicles utilizing the station come from farther away, knowing the option to fill up in Columbus exists.
"Fleet managers look at that with a high degree of confidence and see they will have fuel long-term and at a favorable price," Sumrall says. "This spider web and networking of natural gas makes it easier for fleets between five and 15 trucks to make the decision to go to natural gas."
Sumrall often talks with fleets that want to switch to CNG, and the bottom line is always an essential consideration.
"They all have an equally strong interest in saying they are doing the right thing for the environment and the community, but they cannot do it at the expense of their operation," he says.
The good news is that most medium-duty owners can generally see a payback relatively quickly.
"The repetitive routes create a reasonably good payback in two or three years," Yborra says. "In the case of a step van, they might pay themselves back in two years and keep it for 10 or 11."
Sumrall shares a similar view.
"Most fleets would like to see a payback in three years, and if the miles they drive annually will generate that payoff, they see it as a good economic investment and something to build on long-term," he says.
The overall cost of fuel also remains a factor for medium-duty fleets.
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