Natural gas truck sales climb, says ACT

For the first two months of 2022, US and Canadian Class 8 natural gas truck retail sales rose 21% year-to-date against comparisons of the same time period in 2021, as published in the latest Alternative Fuels Quarterly recently released by ACT Research.

Sales of heavy-duty natural gas trucks rose in the first two months of 2022 according to ACT Research. (Photo: NGVAmerica).

“Sales of NG-powered vehicles as reported by the six major truck OEMs, who account for approximately 60% of the heavy-duty natural gas market, were mixed in the December to February time period, with December and January experiencing strong year-over-year gains, but February lagging considerably,” said Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research. “In the near term, December’s sales easily outshone January and February’s activity, which paled in comparison. Combined, sales in the three-month period extended and increased year-to-date gains meaningfully, a relatively new development.

“Besides sales, the Alternative Fuels Quarterly analyzes the change in existing and planned alternative fuel/power infrastructure and equipment developments. We’re 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. That said, 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 continues to focus on electric commercial vehicle development.”

The ACT Alternative Fuels Quarterly (AFQ) provides insight, analysis and trends about alternative fuel/power adoption for the U.S. heavy and medium 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. The AFQ details such adoption considerations as fuel prices, fuel/charging infrastructure development, equipment prices/products/technological developments, and regulatory changes. NG truck sales data and a forecast for new natural gas adoption are included.

ACT Research is a global publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis and forecasts for the North America and China markets.