Natural gas vehicles on the market

There are currently over 130,000 natural gas vehicles in the United States and about 4.3 million worldwide. Taxicabs, garbage trucks and school buses are often fueled with natural gas and nationwide, 32 percent of all new transit buses are fueled by clean-burning natural gas.


If you want a specific type of NGV, such as a pickup truck, passenger or cargo van, or full-sized sedan, you may want to consider retrofitting a new vehicle by using aftermarket conversion fuel systems. These are installed after purchase, but before the vehicle is delivered to you.

The two companies that currently meet California Air Resources Board's (CARB) original equipment manufacture (OEM) certification standards for California are:

 

  • BAF Technologies: Manufacturer of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CARB certifications for Ford and GM General Motors vehicles.
  • Baytech Corporation: Manufacturer of EPA and CARB certified OEM and some aftermarket conversion systems Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for General Motors vehicles.

Due to the fact that natural gas vehicles have a limited production, they tend to cost more than gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Incentives and tax credits may be available to offset incremental vehicle costs.