Iveco will announce an agreement with a gas supplier in the UK in the next two months ahead of the launch of its latest generation Daily CNG van later this year.
The deal will mean that anyone purchasing a new Daily CNG will have to use Iveco's preferred gas supplier, as the manufacturer considers the standard of gas in the UK is not "clean enough" for optimum running efficiency and will void warranties.
Martin Flach, Iveco UK product director, says: "The UK's gas mains are outdated, being mostly Victorian in design.
"By dealing with a preferred supplier, we can guarantee the quality of gas and make sure customer vehicles operate as cleanly as possible."
Iveco will only honour vehicle warranties where operators have used the preferred gas supplier.
Flach also believes that the cost and lack of testing of hybrid and electric vehicles means CNG is currently the most practical and efficient option for alternative fuel, and sees it being taken up by local authorities and larger fleets.
He also points out that CNG engine technology will last for at least the duration of the vehicle's life, which he believes is not the case for the lithium-ion battery technology employed by the majority of electric vehicle manufacturers.
"We are not 100% comfortable with lithium-ion technology, as we believe it is still in its infancy," he says. "It is new technology and therefore unproven in the long term, therefore we can't say it will last the life of the vehicle."
He adds that the unknown condition of a used vehicle's battery is a potential headache for the second-hand market, as residual value is "hard to tie down" as a result.
In the short term, Flach predicts hybrids are the most practical of the two alternative technologies, particularly for bigger vehicles where battery weight becomes a key issue.
"It will be five to 10 years until an electric [charging] infrastructure is in place in the UK," he adds, and questions the government's current policy of encouraging their use.
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