Gas industry calls for reliable political conditions for gas-driven mobility

Gas-based transport could help the German transport sector reach its greenhouse gas reduction targets, and it also needs more reliable political framework conditions, the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) and the industry initiative Zukunft Erdgas said at a joint mobility conference in Berlin. Addressing the grand coalition government of the CDU/CSU and the SPD, DVGW head Gerald Linke said: “If you are serious about climate and health protection, you bet on gas as a fuel.” German carmaker Volkswagen “believes in gas,” said Stephen Neumann, group officer natural gas mobility at VW AG. The first three months of 2018 saw very strong gas car sales, and based on existing orders this trend would continue. However, gas cars remain a niche product. “It’s a small seed that needs to be nurtured. We think that a market penetration of 5-10 percent for passenger cars is possible in the long term,” said Neumann.

Find a joint press release in German here.

For background, read the CLEW dossier The Energiewende and German carmakers.