The 1000th methane Kamaz

© KamazStarting in 2018, Kamaz wants to sell 1000 methane-powered vehicles per year, so the new gaseous vehicle division in Naberezhnye Chelny will have plenty of work

The anniversary truck was officially handed over to the operator during a ceremony in Naberezhnye Chelny, where the new gaseous-vehicle production facility is located. Authorities of the Tatarstan Republic, part of Russian Federation, were present during the occasion. Who received the 1000^th truck? One of Kamaz' primary corporate customers, Gazprom.

Evgeniy Pronin, Kamaz technical director for gaseous vehicles, highlights that it only took the company two and a half years to produce 1000 vehicles running on compressed and liquefied methane at the new facility. Combined, Kamaz has to date produced approx. 5500 methane-powered trucks and buses. He hopes and firmly believes the figures will soar in the coming months and years, since users are increasingly aware of the advantages of gaseous fuels over conventional ones.

Kamaz took the opportunity to showcase its line-up of methane-fueled vehicles. On display there were the Kamaz 65115 LNG truck tractor, the Kamaz 5490 Neo methane-diesel dual fuel truck, the Kamaz 65116 CNG dump truck and a number of other vehicles, demonstrating the company's broad knowledge of the subject and flexibility.

Impressive as the methane-related number may seem, vehicles running on CNG or LNG are just a small fraction of Kamaz' entire output. During the first 11 months of 2017, the company produced an astonishing 35 thousand trucks and buses, which is 13% more than in the same period of 2016. Of those 35 thousand, just around 600 were fueled with methane, but Kamaz estimates that in 2018 production will hit 1000 vehicles running on CNG/LNG. To help boost the figures, new diesel-gas applications are planned.