Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle Market

The global automotive natural gas vehicle market was valued at $11.1 billion in 2021, and is projected to reach $20.4 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.4% from 2022 to 2031.

Natural gas vehicle is a type of alternative fuel vehicles which utilizes natural gas such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a fuel to operate the vehicle. Natural gas vehicles work in similar manner as the gasoline powered engine does. A natural gas vehicle stores the natural gas in a fuel tank, or cylinder, typically at the back of the vehicle. The fuel system transfers the high-pressure gas from the fuel tank to combustion chamber with the aid of fuel lines. Then, inside combustion chamber, the fuel is mixed with air and then compressed, and ignited by a spark plug. Moreover, natural gas vehicles have high performance and low emissions.   

The growth of the global automotive natural gas vehicle market is propelling due to increase in fuel costs, government initiatives to develop & expand natural gas distribution infrastructure, and rise in environmental awareness. However, rise in demand for electric vehicle is the factor that hampers the growth of the market. Furthermore, growth in demand from emerging countries is the factor expected to offer growth opportunities during the forecast period.

The automotive natural gas vehicle market is segmented on the basis of fuel type, vehicle type, and region. By fuel type, it is bifurcated into CNG and LNG. By vehicle type, it is classified into passenger cars and commercial vehicles. By region, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. 

Some leading companies profiled in the automotive natural gas vehicle market report comprises AB Volvo, BMW AG, CNH Industrial N.V., Ford Motor Company, Honda Motor Co., Ltd., Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Navistar International Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd, Tata Motors, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Volkswagen AG.

Government initiatives to develop & expand natural gas distribution infrastructure

Governments of various countries are taking initiatives to reduce carbon footprints by encouraging use of natural gas-based vehicles. Governments in numerous countries across the globe are taking initiatives to develop and expand the natural gas distribution infrastructure to shift toward natural gas-based vehicles instead of petrol or diesel-based vehicles. For instance, in November 2021, in India, the ministry of petroleum and natural gas announced the construction of 100 LNG fueling stations on the major national highways across the country to replace diesel and petrol with cleaner fuel in long-haul vehicles and to achieve the target of 15% share for natural gas in India’s total energy mix by 2030.

In addition, in 2020, in India, Union Minister of petroleum, natural gas and steel, announced that central government is expected to invest $60 billion over the period of next four year to envisaging a gas-based economy by increasing the share of natural gas in India’s primary energy mix from 6.2% to 15% by 2030. Such initiatives taken by government for the development and expansion of natural gas infrastructure are anticipated to foster the growth of the automotive natural gas vehicle industry during the forecast period.

Rise in environmental awareness

Automobiles are a major source of ozone, particulate matter, and other smog-forming pollutants. The dangers of air pollution on one's health are enormous. Poor air quality exacerbates respiratory illnesses such as asthma & bronchitis, raises the risk of life-threatening disorders such as cancer, and costs the health-care system a lot of money. Particulate pollution is responsible for up to 30,000 deaths prematurely each year. Vehicles, engines and motorized equipment that emit exhaust and evaporative pollutants are illustrations of these sources.

Vehicles utilized on roadways for passenger or freight transportation are considered on-road sources. Vehicles, motors, and equipment used for construction, agriculture, recreation, and a variety of other applications are examples of off-road sources. To reduce the environmental impact of the vehicle sector, governments all over the world have passed strict environmental restrictions. For instance, a group of 21 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, and several large U.S. cities encouraged the U.S. government to implement stringent automobile emission laws in September 2021. Automobile manufacturers create alternative fuel-powered vehicles that provide a greener driving experience with little or no hazardous emissions.

The use of natural gas as a transport fuel has two environmental advantages; for instance, natural gas is a clean burning fuel with very low nitrogen oxides and soot emissions, thus substantially improving the local air quality. In addition to this, natural gas produces less CO2 for every unit of energy consumed by the vehicle. CNG is employed to power passenger cars and city buses. These vehicles emit 5-10% less CO2 than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles.

The recent environmental changes, such as increase in global warming across the globe, have led to rise in awareness among the people to spend the income to buy vehicles powered by natural gas that are less harmful to the environment compared to conventional vehicles. Moreover, governments across the globe have imposed stringent norms for the vehicle emission. Increasing government norms related to vehicle emission is expected to propel the demand for natural gas vehicles, which in turn is anticipated to boost the growth of the automotive natural gas vehicle market across the globe.

Rise in demand for electric vehicle

Climate changes are taking place all over the world. Countries across the globe are taking initiatives to reduce their greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emission. Several countries across the globe are adopting electric vehicle to achieve their net zero emission target, which in turn is increasing the demand for electric vehicles across the globe. Electric vehicle runs on clean energy and has zero emission as compared to traditional gasoline powered engine. Electric vehicle has an electric motor that runs on electric power supplied by the battery, thereby, eliminating the need of any other type of engine. The rise in interest of consumers toward electric vehicles is likely to hamper the growth of the market during the forecast period as electric vehicle are non-emission vehicles and do not require fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

In addition, electric vehicle comprises of less automotive parts in comparison to traditional vehicle, which results in reduced maintenance cost and lower overall expenses. Thus, rise in demand for electric vehicle is a major factor that restrains the growth of the automotive natural gas vehicle market. 

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in supply-chain disruptions causing low sales of passenger cars and temporary suspension of production of vehicles across the globe, which in turn resulted in decrease in the sales of natural gas vehicles. For instance, in September 2020, Europe recorded a decrease of 50% in the sales of passenger cars running on alternative fuels such ethanol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas (NGV) in 2020 as compared to 2019. Total number of vehicles sold were reduced to 335,906 units which were 1.1% less in 2020 as compared to 2019. Moreover, import-export activities between countries were temporarily halted due to national emergency, resulting in shortage of supply, return, and replacement of automotive parts & finished items. Several automobile manufacturers faced shortage of components such as semiconductor chips, and others, which resulted in delay in production of automobiles, thereby resulted in decrease in the production of natural gas-based vehicles. However, post-pandemic, few companies has recorded the increase in the sales of natural gas-based vehicles which is expected to drive the growth of the automotive natural gas vehicle market during the forecast timeframe. For instance, in April 2021, Maruti Suzuki recorded an increase of 48.11% in the sales of gas-based vehicles in 2021 as compared to 2019. The total number of units sold were 157,000 units in 2021 and 106,444 units in 2020.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the automotive natural gas vehicle market analysis from 2021 to 2031 to identify the prevailing automotive natural gas vehicle market opportunities.
• The market research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.
• Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.
• In-depth analysis of the automotive natural gas vehicle market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.
• Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.
• Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.
• The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global automotive natural gas vehicle market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and market growth strategies.

 Automotive Natural Gas Vehicle Market Report Highlights