One of the UK's larger vehicle fleets has confirmed it remains “absolutely committed” to liquefied petroleum gas as its fuel alternative of choice.
Thales UK, which operates in the defence, aerospace and IT sectors, has several hundred vehicles running on the cleaner fuel and, says fleet manager Nigel Rowden, the company's policy will see ever more vehicles converted in the future as existing models are replaced.
"We recently achieved ISO140001, the environmental standard, which reinforced our track record in this area," he said. "Naturally we aim to improve our environmental contribution across the business and given the size of our vehicle fleet, cleaner fuel was a natural choice in addition to the cost savings."
The company has 360 vehicles running on LPG and a large number of petrol and diesel vehicles are due for replacement in 2005.
"Naturally we want the Government to extend the duty differential currently enjoyed by LPG against diesel and petrol," he said. "Even if the duty increases slightly, LPG still makes economic sense for us, as most of our LPG fuel usage is through our “back to base” re-fuelling tanks, but of course we will be watching 10 December with interest.
"We, like many in the sector, have invested hugely in cleaner fuel vehicles and we want to see Government firmly committed to LPG, including funding of the Powershift scheme to meet increasing demand from fleets seeking to adopt LPG vehicles," he added.
"From our point of view, LPG remains easily the most available fuel alternative. We were thinking about hydrogen vehicles a couple of years ago when it looked as though they were on the horizon, and we may still consider them when they look viable. But in the meantime, LPG is here and is massively cleaner than diesel, so we've got high hopes for 10 December," he added.
“Fleet decision makers require commitment from both government and vehicle manufacturers. LPG is not the last word in alternative fuels but it has an important position in achieving low emissions and cleaner air quality today.”
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