Iran ranks 2nd in using gas-fueled cars

The number of Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) on Iran’s roads has reached 2 million, ranking the country second out of five states with the highest number, an Iranian official says.

NGV is an alternative fuel vehicle that uses Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as a clean alternative to other automobile fuels.

Two million out of 11 million vehicles in the country’s roads are using the alternative fuel, Hamed Houri-Jafari, an Iranian Oil Ministry official said on Sunday.

He further pointed out that the number of gas-fueled cars in Iran placed the country second in the world after Pakistan.

According to Houri-Jafari, there are more than 11.5 million NGVs in the world and the number could reach to 65 million by 2020.

Worldwide, there were 11.4 million NGVs by 2009, led by Pakistan with 2.3 million, Argentina (1.8 million), Iran (1.7 million), Brazil (1.6 million), and India (935 thousand).

The sale of gas-fueled cars is also rising in Iran due to the low price of natural gas in the gas and oil-rich country.

The Iranian government hopes the switch to dual-fuel will provide relief for motorists affected by gasoline rationing, as there are no limits on the supply of CNG. Dual-fuel cars can run on CNG or gasoline.