Russian Ministry of Energy completes test drive of LADA VESTA CNG natural gas vehicle

August 10, 2017

Russian Ministry of Energy completes test drive of LADA VESTA CNG natural gas vehicle

The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation has completed a trial run of the commercial LADA VESTA CNG natural gas passenger vehicle. The test drive to determine the convenience and economic performance of the natural gas vehicle in Moscow was conducted with the support of AVTOVAZ over the course of a month – from 10 July to 10 August.

The LADA VESTA CNG is designed to use both compressed natural gas as well as traditional petrol. A fully fuelled car is able to travel more than 1,000 kilometres without refuelling. When the gas in the cylinders runs out, the engine automatically switches to petrol. The fuel option can only be changed with a gas/petrol switch.

As of 9 August 2017, the vehicle had reached mileage of 1,185 km, including 1,085 km during the trial run. The average daily mileage was 36 km. The vehicle consumed a total of 37 litres of gasoline and 53 cubic metres of natural gas (CNG). The average CNG fuelling time was about 4 minutes, or approximately 5.2 m3 per minute, which is comparable with the fuelling speed at a filling station. Given that the car was mainly driven within Moscow’s Third Ring Road, the average mileage for refuelling the vehicle with CNG car at NGV filling stations was about 19 km in both directions.

The fuel consumed over the reporting period cost RUB 2,269 (37 litres х RUB 37.70 per litre + 53 m3 х RUB 16.5 per m3). Thus, the fuel cost savings (compared to the use of motor petrol) was RUB 1,124, or more than RUB 1.6 per 1 km of mileage.

Today, natural gas is the most eco-friendly and promising type of fuel. Russia is one of the world’s leaders in natural gas production and reserves. Issues concerning the globalization and prospects of the natural gas market will be discussed in particular during Russian Energy Week 2017.

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