Volvo will end production of bio/natural gas vehicles

Monsters and Critics is reporting that in Stockholm on Wednesday, Volvo announced that it would discontinue its development of biogas and natural gas-fueled vehicles. According to the online version of Goteborgs-Posten, a major daily newspaper in Sweden, Volvo spokesman Christer Gustafsson said that, instead, they would focus on hybrid and ethanol solutions as E85 is more readily available than natural gas at filling stations.
The article isn't clear as to whether this includes both passenger cars as well Volvo's trucks and buses. The V40/50 Bi-Fuel, S60/80 Bi-Fuel and V70 Bi-Fuel are some models that at one point or another were available in natural gas form. Hopefully, we'll see additional reports soon to clarify some of the gaps. I wasn't able to find the Goteborgs-Posten article, though, I did try running this page through an online translator, but it was still illegible so I'm not sure if it's the actual source report. A few searches on my usual news feeds found no one else reporting on the matter. This page on Volvo's website shows that the S60 and V70 are still available in Bi-Fuel versions in Europe.
Monsters and Critics also points out that since 1995 the Swedish car manufacturer has only sold about 10,000 natural gas and biogas vehicles.
[Source: Monsters and Critics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
R.sathish 5:27AM (2/12/2009)
hai,i am doing some projects in bio natural gas so please join me in your way............
thanking you.........
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Leendert 8:17AM (10/05/2006)
The article in Göteborgs-Posten doesn't give many details. It talks about a unsuccessful attempt from Lena Sommestad (Environmental minister) to convince Volvos CEO Fredrik Arp to continue the production of bio/natural gas fueled cars.
Further it reports that Ethanol prices have risen dramatically in the summer to match gasoline prices in some areas so that the cost advantage has been eliminated.
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Derrick Y. Noh 8:44AM (10/05/2006)
Thanks for the translation, Leendert.
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