U.S. and Canadian natural gas Class 8 truck retail sales were flat through August year-to-date, according to ACT Research.
“Despite the uncertainty of environmental change on the horizon, and continuing low oil prices, the future of alternative fuels led by NG/RNG is positive. The challenges of alternative fuel availability and distribution will be overcome; time is the biggest unknown.” said Ken Vieth, Senior Partner/GM at ACT Research.
“Based on industry news releases, natural gas vehicle purchases were dominated by refuse fleets through August year to date, followed by transit and school bus operators and then over-the-road applications.”
In mid-August, ACT Research announced an enhanced alternative fuels calculator that now gives users the opportunity to compare operating and payback costs per mile for diesel, electric, fuel cell, gasoline, propane, and natural gas powered vehicles.
The enhanced calculator was designed for fleet managers to easily compare any of the above fuels, using parameters specific to their particular situation/applications, geography, contracted fuel rates, financing and maintenance costs. ACT is a neutral participant in the CV industry, as is the truck fuel calculator. The calculator is free to all users and is available at http://act2017.wpengine.com/actcalc/AltFuelCalculator.php. The calculator is designed for use on a smart phone or computer. It is easy to print comparisons to share with others in the organization. All results are based exclusively on user input.
“Electric vehicle technology continues to make strides as it slowly penetrates various medium duty vehicle classifications with Class 8 on the docket,” as stated by Vieth. He continued, “All viable commercial vehicle power alternatives must now be considered to accurately measure potential cost savings for fleets, government applications and others, while meeting overall current and future emissions targets. Going green is a real market variable, while diesel is the king today.”