Mercedes Expands Natural Gas Vehicle Production to Thailand
25 December 2005
 |
| The Benz E200 NGT |
TNA. Daimler Chrysler plans to begin producing natural gas vehicles (NGV) in Thailand—its first instance of NGV production outside of Germany.
The announcement came during a ceremony in which DaimlerChrysler delivered the bi-fuel E200 NGT (earlier post)to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for testing for one year.
| Mercedes-Benz E 200 NGT Bi-Fuel Sedan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | Natural Gas | |
| Displacement (cc) | 1,796 | 1,796 |
| Power | 120 kW; 165 hp | 120 kW; 165 hp |
| Torque | 240 Nm; 177 lb-ft | 240 Nm; 177 lb-ft |
| Accel. (0-100 km) | 10.7 secs | 10.8 secs |
| Top Speed | 227 km/h; 141 mph | 227 km/h; 141 mph |
| Fuel consumption | 9 l/100 km; 26.1 mpg | 6.1 kg/100km |
| Range | 700 km; 35 mi | 300 km; 186.5 mi |
| CO2 | 215 g/km | 168 g/km |
The 1.8-liter, inline-four cylinder engine in the E200 produces 120 kW (165 hp) with 240 Nm (177 lb-ft) of torque in natural gas mode, matching the power and torque of the E 200 Kompressor on which the NGT was based. This makes the NGT the most powerful bi-fuel sedan in production, according to Mercedes.
Production will be for local sale as well as export. Other automakers are expected to begin producing NGVs in Thailand since governments in the region are promoting NGV use as a mechanism to cope with the volatility of rising fuel prices.
PTT, the Thai gas company, will accelerate building NGV service stations to accommodate the expected increased demand for the alternative fuel. Currently PTT operates 58 NGV service stations. It plans to increase the number to 160 next year and 740 nationwide in 2010.
There are currently 500,000 NGVs in Thailand consuming 365 million cubic feet of gas per day.
To encourage more NGV use,Thailand will reduce an existing excise tax on NGV by 10 per cent to 20 per cent and give an import tariff exemption for NGV cylinders and other related equipment.
When are we going to see these in the US?
Posted by: DaveC | 29 January 2006 at 06:08 PM
I will be retiring in Thailand, with my Thai wife f 25 years. We want to buy two of your N.Gas Benz. When will they be on the market and can we get SL sports Benz with N gas?
Posted by: Col William S. Westmoreland,II | 10 December 2006 at 01:50 AM