Running your car on Autogas fuel is not only cleaner than running it the common fuel types such as Diesel and Petrol, but it is also a cheaper alternative. But what is Autogas exactly? Autogas is the term used to describe the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas as a fuel for cars and vehicles.
What are the main benefits of an Autogas vehicle?
Switching to Autogas brings with it several benefits. Firstly, it is cheaper in the long run, at half the cost of petrol. While it is very easy to convert your car to run on LPG, once you do, you will get your investment back in less than 1 year. The reason behind this is that the price of a litre of Autogas is 57% cheaper than petrol and 53% cheaper than diesel on average in Europe, according to Liquid Gas Europe.
Autogas is also considered as a safer fuel alternative, while guaranteeing less emissions than traditional fuels. In fact, Autogas vehicles and converted cars have been seen to bring significant reductions in NOx and particles emissions when compared to diesel and petrol cars according to the European LPG Association. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines on air quality clearly identify NOx and particles emissions from transport as a cause of negative health. Apart from this, the European LPG Association also said that Autogas cars bring along a 10-20% less CO2 when compared with petrol cars. This means that they’re helping Europe reach its climate change objectives.
However, the major benefit at the moment when converting your vehicle to Autogas is that the government is giving out grants until the 31st of December 2022 to help you cover part of the costs related to the conversion. The grant can be accessed by any person residing in Malta or that is running a business in Malta. The public can benefit from a grant starting at €400 and going up to €1500 per vehicle.
All you need to know about converting your vehicle to Autogas
When you convert your petrol or diesel car to LPG, this basically means that your car would be able to run on both LPG and petrol/diesel just by flipping a switch that would be installed within the dashboard of the car. While there’s an installation cost that usually starts from around €500 this will lead you to spend much less money on fuel costs in the long run.
There are already several European countries that have implemented such an LPG system for cars and where it has been operating successfully for years, including Italy and Germany to mention a few. In fact, Autogas has become the number one fuel alternative in the EU, with about 8 million vehicles having switched over to it. However, there’s still a long way to go given that within Europe there are a total of 250 million passenger cars in use. Since 2013, Liquigas Malta has been working hard to introduce this concept as a common practice in Malta too, all in an effort to continue reducing Malta’s carbon footprint.
If you are interested in switching to Autogas, then our recommendation is to use an Autogas authorised mechanic to ensure you get a professionally made conversion. Currently, there are three authorised mechanics that are recommended by Liquigas Malta, and these are: Acheck Ltd, Michael Debono Ltd and Muscats Motors Ltd.
While there are several automobile manufacturers that have been releasing models of cars that run on both LPG and petrol, most petrol-engine cars that don’t have Autogas systems installed by the manufacturers can accept third party system installations that enable them to make use of both petrol and LPG.
With the installation happening over the course of just one day, the authorised mechanic would install a kit in the car’s engine and an extra fuel tank will then be added, normally in the boot of the car. Once you start driving your car following the conversion, Autogas is automatically switched and used as the main source of fuel. When the gas finishes, then it automatically changes back to petrol.
My LPG kit is now installed…what comes next?
Following the installation, you will immediately see that the car runs as smoothly on LPG as it does on petrol.
Additionally, at the moment there are 8 distributors where you can get your gas tank refill from and they’re spread around Malta and Gozo.
Selling your car with the LPG kit installed can also be beneficial to you as you would be able to sell it for a higher value than it would have otherwise been sold.
…and that’s how you make the switch to Autogas, a safer, more sustainable, and cheaper fuel alternative.
Make sure to check out our upcoming blogs for more information on the safest way to install and take care of gas appliances!
