According to Vanti, natural gas equipment installations increased by 268% in the last four months of 2023, particularly in Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander, and Cesar departments. This year, a total of 6,273 installations have been carried out compared to the 3,598 performed in 2022.
The competitiveness of CNG compared to gasoline has increased due to the rise in the price of the latter, Vanti reported. Currently, the savings are at 56% between both fuels.
During August, a total of 1,466 vehicle conversions to natural gas were carried out in the Vanti area of influence. In context, it must be said that for an owner of a taxi vehicle, this savings can represent more than COP 760,000 per month.
To further expand the use of natural gas for vehicles, there is the Conversion Fund, composed of Ecopetrol, TGI, and Vanti, which aims to facilitate the end customer’s access to the product by granting incentives that reduce the final value of the kit installation. Currently, these incentives cover up to 75% of the average value of a conversion.
In Colombia, it is estimated that there are currently more than 180,000 vehicles that run on natural gas; in Bogotá, 63,000; in Bucaramanga, 7,000; and Tunja, 3,170. According to the conversion history of the last five years, about 30% of these correspond to public services, and the remainder to individuals and other segments.
Source: AltFuels Communications Group