What happened to LPG cars?

10/11/2024 02:00 PM

If you got your licence in the past five years, you might not even know what LPG or Autogas is, and for good reason: The once popular fuel is dying out.

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Australians used over 1.4 million tonnes of Autogas or LPG per year at the turn of the century. More recently, that number has plummeted to 365,000 tonnes in 2018 – a decrease of 75 per cent. According to Fleetcare, less than two per cent of cars in Australia’s national fleet currently run on LPG. 

In addition to this, the Howard government introduced a $2000 rebate for people to convert their vehicles to LPG in 2006 which ran until mid-2014, when the rebate was phased out.

Not only were cars available to be converted, but Holden and Ford were also building LPG-powered vehicles just for the Australian market.

So, why is a once popular and cost-saving fuel dying out? We investigate what happened to LPG cars.

What is LPG or Autogas?

LPG or Autogas is a type of fuel that gained popularity in the 1980s for use in internal combustion engine vehicles. As opposed to petrol and diesel, which are in a non-pressurised liquid form, LPG or Autogas is a pressurised gas that, depending on how much pressure it is under, can take the form of a gas or liquid.

The majority of the LPG-powered cars in Australia used what was called a liquid phase injection (LPI).

In its most basic state, LPI utilises a cylindrical pressure-tested tank that replaces a vented plastic/metal flat fuel tank. The tank is filled via a valve-type filler that looks like a large valve stem you would find on a wheel or tyre.

Unlike other LPG systems, which use a condenser to turn the liquid into a gas before delivering it to the engine, LPI sends the pressurised liquid straight to the injectors, simplifying the system overall.

The beauty of an LPI system is that liquid gas can be run on a standard engine with minor changes to the fuel injectors and ignition timing; nothing else must be modified for the engine to run.

The benefits of LPG

One of the major benefits of LPG or Autogas is that it’s more affordable than other fuels.

LPG used to be a fraction of the cost of regular petrol. At the peak of its popularity around 2010, LPG was $0.59 per litre, while 91 unleaded was around $1.15 per litre.

It was also said that LPG ran cleaner and didn’t emit as many emissions as petrol and diesel cars. Every litre of petrol burned puts out 2.3kg of CO₂, while the same amount of LPG produces only 1.5kg of CO₂, and emits up to 63 per cent less nitrogen oxide (NOx) – and even less when compared to diesel.

There’s also the sourcing of LPG. Whereas oil for petrol is sourced from overseas, which heavily pollutes the air from the carrier ships, LPG is sourced from Australia’s rich natural gas deposits.

LPG prices vs petrol and diesel prices (October 2024)

Why did they stop making LPG cars?

A big part of why LPG cars and bowsers are becoming less common actually comes from the death of Australia’s local car manufacturing industry.

Ford was making LPG-fitted Falcons from the factory until its local production ceased in 2016, while Holden stopped offering the option of LPG on its Commodore range in 2015.

These vehicles are now rapidly approaching 10 years old, which is also the average lifespan of a vehicle on the road in Australia.

We are also well into the next generation of fuelling when it comes to ultra-efficient hybrid vehicles, full-electric cars and even hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Although the supply chain behind these vehicles produces emissions, they run cleaner on the road and help governments meet their zero-emission requirements.

Another interesting aspect to look at when discussing the downfall of LPG is the birth of rideshare companies. From 2000 to 2015, most taxi fleets were either LPG Falcons or Commodores. With these vehicles travelling thousands of kilometres a year, they were a big reason why LPG pumps were still fitted in petrol stations.

It could very well be a factor in the demise of LPG bowser availability, as could the decision to switch to petrol-hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Camry and remove the dated fleet of Falcons and Commodores.

There’s also the consideration of an LPG conversion costing upwards of $5000, when there are now much more efficient vehicles you can purchase brand new without the need to have the gas cylinder retested and stamped every 10 years as you do with an LPG system.

Of course, all of this leads to a lack of popularity and, thus, a lack of infrastructure. The good thing about an LPI system is that it can revert to an unleaded petrol set-up, which is what many LPG owners have begun doing.

The interesting part is that BP says “LPG is not affected by the shelf life issues associated with petrol and diesel. It is stable when stored in sealed containers”.

But of course, if you are a business and you have the opportunity to remove a lesser-used bowser and replace it with either electric-car charging infrastructure or another petrol bowser that would generate more revenue, you would do it too.

There are still fans of LPG around Australia, just like our news journalist Ben Zachariah, and there’s still a bustling market for it overseas with fleets of LPG-hybrid taxis in Japan and the ability to purchase Kias, Renaults, SsangYongs, Hyundais and Subarus brand new with an LPG system in countries that still have popular LPG usage such as Japan, the United States, Russia and China.

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