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  The Straits Times 7 Feb 06
Up to 6 'green' fuel kiosks in the pipeline
by Christopher Tan

OWNING a car powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) is finally becoming a viable proposition.

Plans are afoot for up to six new CNG refuelling stations this year - four years after a solitary station was set up on inaccessible Jurong Island.

And Mercedes-Benz dealer Cycle & Carriage, which sold 100 Mercedes E200 NGT (natural gas technology) cars to taxi operator Smart Automobile last year, has started marketing the model to car buyers.

In fact, the E200 NGT - which can run on either petrol or natural gas - will replace the popular E200 Kompressor, which attracts close to 1,000 customers a year. 'Response has been very positive. We've collected about 30 orders since we started last week,' said Cycle & Carriage general manager Eric Chan. 'But the cars will arrive only in March or April.'

Mr Chan said customers are meanwhile waiting eagerly for more refuelling stations. They need not wait much longer.

Smart Automobile has got approval from the authorities for its first natural gas station in Serangoon North. 'We have ordered the equipment for the station, but it will take at least seven months to set up,' said Smart Automobile managing director Johnny Harjantho, who added that he is eyeing another site in Ubi.

Smart will buy its gas from Gas Supply, which is setting up a main station in Toh Tuck. Another gas supplier, SembGas, is planning stations in Bedok, Bukit Merah and Sin Ming. Cycle & Carriage is also mulling over erecting a kiosk at its workshop.

Smart secured a National Environment Agency (NEA) grant of $2 million last year to help set up its gas stations and build up a CNG cab fleet of 500. The Government will also extend tax breaks to those who own more environmentally friendly CNG cars, which can emit 20 per cent less carbon dioxide than petrol-driven ones.

As such, the Mercedes E200 NGT is retailing at $168,000 - $8,000 less than the E200 Kompressor. When the CNG stations are up, owners will be able to fill up at 65 cents per equivalent litre, compared to $1.543 a litre for 95-octane petrol.

But for the moment, cabbies driving CNG taxis have been observed filling up with petrol regularly. Mr Harjantho said he is offering each CNG cabby a 'petrol rebate' of $10 a day 'in case they cannot make it on time to Jurong Island', which is a high-security area.

Currently, Mercedes is the only vendor of CNG passenger cars, but other makes like Volvo and Opel may follow suit. 'Ultimately, CNG is the way to go,' said a spokesman for Mercedes' parent group DaimlerChrysler. 'We just want to have a head start.'
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