Clean Energy (CLNE)

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per HOVA: Ford F-150 to offer natural gas option in Colorado-driven initiative

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2013/07/ford-f-150-to-come-with-natural-gas.html

The Ford F-150, the most popular pickup in the nation, will come in a new flavor for 2014: a version that can run on compressed natural gas as well as gasoline.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), based in Dearborn, Mich., will extend its lineup of vehicles able to run on natural gas, partly driven by a multistate memorandum of understanding launched by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to encourage state agencies to buy such vehicles.

“The No. 1 request out of the states that are in the [memo] was for a half-ton pickup — and that’s what we’re bringing to the market,” said Jon Coleman, Ford’s fleet sustainability and technology manager.

Colorado’s state agencies have ordered 80 natural gas-capable vehicles this year, up from one in 2012.

And in the private sector, corporate fleet managers have been asking for a half-ton pickup that can run on natural gas “for a couple of years,” Coleman said.

With the new 2014 lineup, customers who want a Ford F-150 truck will be able to ask that the engine be upgraded, at an additional cost of $315, to handle natural gas.

“We’ll deliver it to run on gasoline, and they can contract with one of seven vehicle modifiers to run on just natural gas, or they can go to a bi-fuel system where they can switch back and forth [between gasoline and natural gas,” Coleman said.

Completing the conversion costs up to $9,500, but most customers are seeing that cost repaid via lower fuel fills in about three years, Coleman said.

Colorado’s average gasoline price is about $3.55 per gallon; the equivalent per-gallon cost of natural gas ranges from $1.95 to $2.89, according to CNGPrices.com, a website that tracks stations and prices across the country.

In Colorado, where oil and gas companies started buying natural gas-capable vehicles a few years ago, industry supporters hailed Ford’s announcement.

“Original Equipment Manufacturers continue to create new opportunities for natural gas vehicles and Ford’s decision to add the F-150 to the market is validation of the extraordinary potential,” said Matt Most, vice president of Encana Natural Gas Inc., a subsidiary of Encana Corp, one of the biggest oil and gas companies working in Colorado.

“The F-150 is one of the most popular fleet vehicles and consistently one of the highest-selling vehicles of any kind in North America," Most said. "Natural gas is an abundant domestic transportation fuel that is uniquely low cost and environmentally high performing. As natural gas fueling infrastructure continues to grow in North America, the availability of more OEM vehicles is imperative, so we are very pleased with Ford’s announcement.”

Tom Hunt, policy programs manager for the Colorado Energy Office, said he’s not surprised that Ford has received many requests for a half-ton pickup that runs on natural gas.

“We have hundreds of half-ton [pickups] in our state fleet [and] Colorado cities and counties also rely heavily on half-ton pickups,” Hunt said. “I’ve received multiple requests from local governments to add the half-ton CNG pickups to the state pricing agreement as soon as possible.”