According to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), the Spanish fleet of LPG-powered vehicles has gone from 0.2% to 0.3% between 2020 and 2021. In that last year, Spain had a total fleet of vehicles 25.34 million, of which more than 150,000 were LPG.
Part of the success of the transformations of cars from gasoline to LPG is attributed to the establishment of the Low Emission Zones (ZBE) in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, since in most cases the cars with environmental label B or C they can obtain the C or ECO sticker, and with this access to the areas reserved for low-emission vehicles.
In fact Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Malaga, Seville and Alicante are some of the cities where an increase in requests has been noted.
In these cities, the movement restriction protocols are active, measures that do not affect vehicles that circulate with Autogas. Of these, Madrid has turned out to be the city with the greatest demand for AutoGas transformation services, receiving a total of 963 requests since October 2022.
In just two months, nearly 2,000 people have requested information for the campaign launched last October by the energy company Repsol, in collaboration with the Ircongas, Gaspointcenter and Gasmoción workshops, to transform vehicles to AutoGas Specifically, there have been 1,933 individuals and professionals who have shown interest in grants of up to 150 euros to transform their car from gasoline to LPG, a fuel that the DGT classifies as ECO.
Converting a vehicle to AutoGas, with an average cost of €1,500 in 24 months, can be done easily and cheaply through monthly installments at €69.22.
In recent years, the demand generated by this fuel has not stopped growing. According to the European Association of Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA), the Spanish fleet of LPG-powered vehicles goes from 0.2% to 0.3% between 2020 and 2021. In that last year, Spain had a total fleet of vehicles of 25.34 million, of which more than 150,000 were LPG.
Likewise, according to data from Astrave, the Association of Vehicle Transformations, it is estimated that the transformations of gasoline vehicles during 2022 have reached figures between 3,500 and 4,000 adapted vehicles, which represents an increase of 37% compared to 2021.
Converting a vehicle to AutoGas has managed to become a real alternative for those who cannot afford to buy a new vehicle. In the case of a gasoline vehicle, it must comply with the Euro 4 regulations onwards, while if it is a diesel vehicle, it will have to comply with the Euro 6 norm. Thanks to this transformation, drivers can obtain the ECO label and circulate through the new LEZs.
For Javier Navarro, CEO of Gasmoción, a company that transforms vehicles to LPG, and president of Astrave, the Association of Vehicle Transformers, there are several reasons behind the increase in the number of transformations to LPG. As he indicates, “it is a type of ecological and economical fuel.” In addition, the possibility of transforming all those vehicles that will no longer be able to circulate in the cities represents an opportunity to “scrap less and reuse more, thus promoting the circular economy”.
Added to this is the growing awareness of the use of alternative fuels. For Javier Navarro: “drivers are increasingly aware of the savings that LPG allows when it comes to refueling, reaching around 40%”.
The possibility of generating savings thanks to this fuel and the financing modalities of the transformation plan have been two of the keys to this promotional campaign. To these is added one of the great changes for the circulation of vehicles in cities of more than 50,000 inhabitants: the Low Emission Zones (ZBE). The LEZs, characterized by restricting access to the most polluting vehicles, came into effect on January 1, affecting more than 13 million vehicles in Spain, according to data from the MSI consultancy. Of these, 9.3 million have the type B and C environmental label, while more than 3.7 million have no label at all.
In addition, according to data from the European Association of Liquefied Gas, thanks to AutoGas it is possible to reduce emissions of what are known as NOx gases by 74%, and particles from traditional fuels by up to 81%. In addition, it helps to alleviate the greenhouse effect by reducing CO2 emissions by 21% and minimizing noise levels by 50%, according to data from this same entity.
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