Motorists who have converted their vehicles to run on LPG Autogas are saving up to 50 per cent off their
Motorists who have converted their vehicles to run on LPG Autogas are saving up to 50 per cent off their petrol fuel bills, says industry association LPG Australia.
LPG Australia industry development manager Phil Westlake says that as fuel prices hit $1.60 a litre and above, Autogas is retailing for at least 90 cents a litre less.
“While LPG is not immune from price fluctuations caused by world oil markets, Autogas typically sells for less than half the price per litre of ULP petrol. Over the course of a calendar year it clearly offers an immense savings advantage,” he said.
“If you are spending $80 per week on petrol now, you’ll be spending $40 or less on Autogas. That’s $40 per week that stays in your back pocket.”
Westlake says Autogas conversions typically cost between $3000 and $4000. These conversion costs are quickly recouped through Autogas savings and Federal Government’s rebate provided by the LPG Vehicle Scheme.
The Scheme provides a $2000 rebate for private motorists who convert a petrol-powered vehicle to run on LPG Autogas and $1000 for a new LPG vehicle.
“Even without a $2000 grant, a motorist who converts a six-cylinder engine to run on Autogas will recover their conversion investment in under two years – assuming they travel 25,000 kilometres per year and their conversion cost $3000.
In April the national average ULP price was 142.9 cents per litre compared to 66.3 cents for Autogas.
“Factoring in a $2000 grant towards the conversion, you would recover the conversion cost in only seven months.”
Since the scheme was introduced in August 2006, more than 125,000 private motorists have converted their vehicles or bought new LPG-powered vehicles with the help of the government grants.
In the recent Federal Budget, the Government reaffirmed its support for the scheme, allocating a further $19.1 million in funding.
Mr Westlake said Autogas also had strong environmental credentials. It typically produced up to 10 per cent less emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than petrol-fueled variants of the same model.
“Autogas burns more cleanly than petrol and diesel, resulting in reduced CO2 emissions – but also lower emissions of other poisonous gases such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen,” he said.
It is generally accepted in the LPG industry that the current-generation vapour sequential injection (VSI) Autogas systems are indistinguishable from petrol systems in that they offer virtually identical power and drivability.
With over Autogas being sold at over 3200 national outlets, availability is no longer a barrier to conversion, Westlake says.