Greener motoring with Autogas LPG

Road pollution is a major concern for many people and councils across the country have implemented measures to try and reduce harmful emissions such as traffic calming, car sharing, congestion charging schemes and in some cases, areas prohibiting all traffic.

However, a far simpler way to reduce the pollution from road vehicles would be to switch to Liquid Petroleum Gas, or LPG, as Autogas’ Emma Bartle explains: “Motorists can rest assured that going green is made easy with LPG. It represents a realistic alternative to petrol and diesel, with more than 14.6 million vehicles worldwide making the most of its environmental and financial benefits.

“In the UK the popularity of LPG is increasing as motorists look to help the environment and reduce their carbon emissions. However, the environmental impact from road vehicles is far deeper than just CO2; vehicles running on LPG do produce far less carbon dioxide, but they also emit far fewer of the other harmful emissions such as oxides of nitrogen and microscopic particles, known as PM10s, which are found in diesel and petrol and have a damaging effect on the environment(1).”

By choosing to run an LPG-powered vehicle, as well as helping the environment, motorists can reap the benefits of using a cost-effective fuel by enjoying spending on average 40% less on fuel. And in most cases, the cost of conversion can be recovered in less than two years(2).

In addition, motorists in and around London can also apply for exemption from the congestion charge and all LPG vehicle owners can anticipate increased residual vehicle values.

There are now more than 1,400 public access LPG refuelling sites with the majority of these on petrol forecourts. Autogas Limited, a joint venture between Calor and Shell, currently supplies around 220 outlets in the UK. A full list can be found at www.autogas.ltd.uk.

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Notes to editors
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(1) Vehicles running on LPG produce 17 per cent less carbon dioxide than petrol and 2 per cent less than diesel, but also 120 per cent less oxides of nitrogen than petrol and a staggering 2,000 per cent less than diesel, and up to 120 times less small particle (PM10) emissions than diesel vehicles.

(2) Converting a vehicle to run on LPG can be done quickly and easily by an approved converter and costs around £1,800. Based on current fuel prices and an annual mileage of 20,000 miles it would take around 22 months to recoup this initial cost. (Payback period equates to 22.03 months based on official combined consumption figures published on www.renault.co.uk for 2.0 16V Laguna Sport Tourer assuming a 20% reduction for LPG. National average fuel prices taken from www.fleetnews.co.uk.) In order to calculate potential fuel savings, Autogas has made a savings calculator available on its web site: www.autogas.ltd.uk.