A Global Roadmap for Autogas

Autogas is well-placed to play an important role in the transition to a genuinely sustainable, clean road-transport sector. But for this to happen, concerted action by all stakeholders – from policy makers, to vehicle manufacturers, to Autogas fuel-system producers and installers, and to the Autogas supply industry itself – is needed to influence consumer perception (Figure 16). This action needs to focus on addressing the barriers to developing the Autogas market in each country and region, and building momentum.

Figure 16: The role of key stakeholders in enhancing consumer perception of Autogas

A plan of action needs to be based on an understanding of the critical success factors for the development of a sustainable Autogas market. The principal factor, as explained above, is the financial attraction of switching to Autogas for vehicle owners. This is largely determined by the structure of fuel taxes and the cost of converting vehicles. In practice, the crucial variable in the choice of fuel is the speed of payback on the initial additional cost of converting a gasoline vehicle to run on Autogas or the higher price of an OEM vehicle relative that of a new gasoline or diesel vehicle. The payback period has to be sufficiently short to justify the investment and to compensate for the inconvenience associated with Autogas.

The achievement of critical market mass is the other key factor: even where strong financial incentives exist, Autogas use will not necessarily take off until the market reaches a certain size:

• The market needs to be large enough to demonstrate to potential Autogas users and fuel providers that the fuel is safe, reliable and cost-effective alternative to conventional fuels. The more Autogas vehicles there are on the road, the more confidence other vehicle owners will have to switch fuels.
• Autogas must be widely available and the general public must be aware of this. A lack of refuelling stations is a major impediment to persuading vehicle owners to switch to Autogas, even where there is a strong financial incentive.
• The Autogas market must be big enough to support a viable network or properly-trained mechanics to convert and maintain Autogas vehicles and ensure the availability of spare parts and equipment. All stakeholders in the Autogas sector need to work together to ensure that Autogas remains an attractive fuel option and to make sure that critical market mass does not constitute a barrier to market growth. If all stakeholders contribute, the vision of can become a reality.