Iveco is reaffirming its commitment to the natural gas-powered commercial vehicle market, which represents a key strength within the Iveco range.
Today the use of methane is one of the opportunities but also one of the challenges that manufacturers must face in order to provide a tangible contribution to the solution of the environmental problems that affect the world of transportation. The use of natural gas vehicles represents an investment of great social importance, but also an economic advantage for the customer. In addition to lower fuel costs and the low fuel consumption, methane propulsion is favoured in many countries by purchase incentives.
The natural gas vehicle technology has been a priority of Iveco's research and development activities. Ever since 1995, Iveco has showed a keen interest in natural gas propulsion and today, besides being the only commercial and industrial vehicle manufacturer to offer an entire range of methane fuelled vehicles, from the Daily to the Stralis, it is the European leader in the research and marketing of these vehicles, with 11,000 circulating vehicles included in private company and public sector fleets.
The stoichiometric combustion system used in FPT Industrial natural gas engines with three way catalyst provides great reliability and is very long-lasting, having been tested for years on vehicles used for urban goods distribution. This system, unlike others, enables the composition of the gas used to be detected and to consequently adapt the motor operation in order to keep emission levels low without jeopardizing performance. The spark ignition makes acoustic emissions even lower than an equivalent diesel engine. As has been experimented in the course of the European Community project Fideus (Freight Innovative Delivery of Goods in European Urban Space), these vehicles are particularly suitable for night use in urban centres, without requiring further acoustic insulation measures to be applied. The Iveco natural gas commercial vehicles can already use bio-methane, one of the sources of renewable energy with the best credentials in terms of reduction of CO2 emissions.
