Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) offer a variety of economic and environmental benefits over conventional gasoline vehicles, but their adoption has been slow in most developed countries. However, according to a recent report from Pike Research, acceptance of NGVs is actually quite strong in other parts of the world. The cleantech market intelligence firm expects that, out of 11.3 million NGVs estimated to be on the road by the end of 2010, three-quarters of those vehicles will be in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.

“The use of NGVs is driven by four key factors: economics, environmental benefits, energy security, and availability of vehicles and fuel,” says senior analyst Dave Hurst. “What many leading NGV markets have in common is that they are oil-producing countries that have an inexpensive supply of natural gas, yet they do not have strong petroleum refinement capabilities. Therefore, it makes economic sense for these countries to use natural gas to fuel vehicles at home, and export crude oil for refinement elsewhere.”

Hurst adds that NGV refueling stations are a critical infrastructure requirement, and a number of countries have demonstrated strong commitment by investing heavily in such stations. Pakistan leads the world with more than 3,000 NGV stations operational in 2010, followed by Argentina and Brazil. However, Pike Research notes that growth rates for NGV stations are expected to be strongest in the United States and several markets in Europe, with corresponding growth in NGV sales. Government and corporate fleets will be the key growth drivers for NGVs in the U.S. and Europe.