Iveco, a world leader in commercial and specialty vehicles and a part of Fiat Industrial Group, and Russian company Gazprom PLC are collaborating on the development of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) vehicles in Russia. The parties believe that the country’s CNG market has a great potential for growth. By switching from diesel to CNG powered engines, Russian companies operating in key sectors of the economy could achieve substantial reductions in fuel consumption, benefiting the environment while strengthening national energy security.
Gazprom Group – the biggest extractor and supplier of natural gas in the Russian Federation and holder of the world’s largest reserves – is running programs to promote the use of CNG and is looking for collaboration opportunities with key strategic partners in the country for the development, production and promotion of CNG vehicles.
Iveco, which has successfully introduced CNG vehicles into a variety of commercial applications, is fully committed to supporting the expansion of the country’s fleet of CNG vehicles and is ready to provide cost-effective vehicle solutions featuring CNG engine technology and vehicles for companies operating in diverse economic sectors from public transport to heavy duty off-road applications.
Iveco and Gazprom will carry out testing and development programs for CNG engine vehicles. Also included within the scope of the collaboration is the development of economic proposals to encourage a wider use of CNG vehicles at both regional and national levels, as well as the organization of campaigns to promote the use of CNG as the best fuel alternative for commercial vehicles. The program for the construction of new CNG filling stations undertaken by Gazprom PLC will be aligned with the current geography of CNG vehicle applications in Russia.
As part of this joint project, Iveco will supply CNG powered vehicles for Gazprom trial operations as well as regional and international exhibitions. Alfredo d’Errico, Head of Iveco Russia LLC, noted that this collaboration will help strengthen the partnership between the two companies and boost the renewal of the CNG commercial trucks fleet in the Russian transport industry.
Iveco, a European leader in the field of natural gas vehicles, offers a full range of CNG vehicles: from the 3.5 ton Natural Power Daily to the 16 ton Eurocargo and the 40 ton Stralis CNG. Today there are an estimated total of 12,000 Iveco natural gas vehicles in circulation in public and private fleets throughout Europe. With the support of its sibling powertrain company FPT Industrial, Iveco offers a wide range of commercial vehicles powered by methane in Russia, from 3.5 to 26 tons as well as CNG solutions for city transport.
Thanks to these leading technologies, a vehicle such as the new Stralis CNG already meets Euro VI emissions standards and is able to operate for up to 400 km with a single tank of fuel. The gas bottle protection and the overall appearance of CNG engine vehicles, which is almost identical to the diesel equivalent models, received the highest ranking from Gazprom.
