According to Vanti, installations of natural gas equipment increased by 268%, especially in the last four months of 2023. The departments where conversions have grown the most are Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santander and Cesar. So far this year, a total of 6,273 installations have been carried out compared to the 3,598 performed in 2022.
The competitiveness of CNG compared to gasoline has been increasing as a result of the rise in the price of the latter, Vanti reported. Currently, the savings are at 56% between both fuels.
It should be noted that, during August, a total of 1,466 vehicle conversions to natural gas were carried out in the Vanti area of influence. In context, it must be said that for an owner of a taxi vehicle this savings can represent more than COP 760,000 per month.
To continue expanding the use of natural gas for vehicles, there is the Conversion Fund, made up of Ecopetrol, TGI and Vanti, which aims to facilitate the end customer’s access to the product by granting incentives that reduce the final value of the kit installation. Currently, these incentives cover up to 75% of the average value of a conversion.
In Colombia it is estimated that currently more than 180,000 vehicles run on natural gas; in Bogotá, 63,000; in Bucaramanga, 7,000; and Tunja 3,170. According to the conversion history of the last five years, about 30% of these correspond to public services, and the remainder to individuals and other segments.
