(EnergyAsia, November 22 2012, Thursday) — The Asia Pacific region has raced ahead of the rest of the world to rapidly become the largest market for natural gas vehicles (NGVs), thanks to strong demand growth in Thailand, India and China, said US-based consulting firm Pike Research.
The Boulder, Colorado firm said prospects vary widely across the globe for light-duty NGVs, which produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional gasoline engines and run on fuel that is much cheaper than gasoline.
Its latest report found that markets in the Americas and Europe continue to struggle with developing refuelling infrastructure to meet the needs of both consumers and fleets.
Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, said North America continues to lag in this sector.
Although sales of NGVs in the region will grow at a healthy 10.2% compound annual growth rate from 2012 to 2019, the report predicts that annual sales will reach only 37,000 by 2019, or just over one percent of projected world sales of 3.2 million units.
“Sales of NGVs will grow strongly in the next several years in North America, but the market is starting from a very small base of about 16,000 vehicles a year,” said senior research analyst Dave Hurst.
“The lack of widely available refueling stations, the absence of government incentives for purchasers, and low consumer awareness of NGVs will keep the North American market to just a fraction of the total world market.”
“The lack of widely available refueling stations, the absence of government incentives for purchasers, and low consumer awareness of NGVs will keep the North American market to just a fraction of the total world market.”
The report, “Light Duty Natural Gas Vehicles”, analyses the global market opportunity for NGVs in the passenger car and light duty truck markets. It examines the current market, fuel availability, demand drivers, policy factors and technology issues associated with the growth of NGVs for the consumer and fleet markets.
In a separate report, Pike Research said electric vehicle sales in China will fall far short of government targets despite its development and adoption being a strategic priority for the country.
The government has set a target for the production of 500,000 PEVs per year by 2015 as part of its long-term goal to make China the world leader in plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales.
But Pike Research said annual sales of PEVs in China will reach only 45,000 units by 2015, rising to 152,000 vehicles in 2017. That figure represents less than one percent of the total light duty vehicle market in China.
“Indeed, evidence is emerging to suggest that Chinese EV manufacturers have yet to develop proven technology that can propel the market. Even though it is unlikely to reach its targets, however, China’s EV ambitions will provide a huge boost to electric car development worldwide in the long run, said research director John Gartner
“As of early 2012, only a few domestically produced EV models were available to China’s general public. Indeed, evidence is emerging to suggest that Chinese EV manufacturers have yet to develop proven technology that can propel the market. Even though it is unlikely to reach its targets, however, China’s EV ambitions will provide a huge boost to electric car development worldwide in the long run.”
Since 2003, Chinese automakers have released or announced the production of 40 battery electric vehicles and 31 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that will be on the market by 2015.