© Volkswagen More specifically, Trucking Alliance aims to buy 300 new natural-gas-powered units for its fleet of 1470 vehicles, of which currently all run on diesel fuel. Even though trucks running on compressed methane are more expensive to purchase than their conventionally-fuelled equivalents (2 million pesos instead of 1,25 million, i. e. 122 thousand instead of 76 thousand dollars) and more expensive to maintain (by 15%), they provide a fuel bill saving of 45% and on top of that they emit virtually no particulate matter.
In Mexico we have many reservations and we believe that the price of natural gas will be a little more stable. Today the price is lower, although the truck and its maintenance are more expensive, but after three or four years to recoup the investment, it will be a little more profitable.
Hugo Higareda, Trucking Alliance vice-president
Given the scale of investment (300 vehicles in a short period of time) and the price of a single truck (2 million pesos), Trucking Alliance will need a vast amount of money to finance the switch – 600 million pesos, equal to approx. 36,6 million dollars. While it will pay back over time, the company will seek external financing schemes to pay for the diesel-to-CNG switch initiative.
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