NG vehicle sales showed little change as 2021 concluded

For the first 11 months of 2021, U.S. and Canadian Class 8 natural gas truck retail sales rose 3 percent year-to-date despite increasingly difficult comparisons of the same time period in 2020, ACT Research announced this week in its Alternative Fuels Quarterly publication.

In the Class 8 market, sales were up 16 percent in the same period. 

The ACT Alternative Fuels Quarterly (AFQ) provides insight, analysis, and trends about alternative fuel/power adoption for the U.S. medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle markets. It is designed to give quick insights to anyone with an interest in the evolution of power and alternative fuel use for heavy vehicles. 

"Sales of NG-powered vehicles as reported by the six major truck OEMs, who account for approximately 60 percent of the heavy-duty natural gas market, were mixed in the September to November time period," says Steve Tam, ACT Research vice president. He says September enjoyed a small year over year gain but the market lost ground in the following two months. "Combined, sales in the three-month period diluted year-to-date gains meaningfully, a pattern that started in July."

The most recent AFQ report also included insights for other alternative power options. On that note, Tam says ACT Research is seeing an overall increase in electric charging stations, both existing and planned, but a continuing decline of total natural gas stations, particularly those planned for the future.

"We still see articles about natural gas use in transportation, as well as discussions about hydrogen fuel cells and investments, but the overwhelming amount of trade-industry headlines this quarter seemed to focus on electric commercial vehicle development," he says.



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