Analysis of LNG Bus Market in Jan. - Oct. 2012 Ⅰ

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In a broader sense, the natural gas buses contain LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) buses, CNG(Compressed Natural Gas) buses and LNG(Liquefied Natural Gas) buses. But in a narrow sense, the natural gas buses contain CNG buses and LNG buses. With the oil price rising and the national required emission standard upgrading, the public start to concern more and more on the natural gas buses. Therefore, the natural gas buses are competitive compared to traditional diesel buses. Due to the sales of the LPG buses are very few, but the time of the CNG buses put into market was so early, so CNG buses are more well known than other kinds of natural gas buses. Besides, though the development of the LNG buses are very fast, at this moment, its name is not so widely known as the CNG buses. So it is to analyze the sales & market of LNG buses in the first ten months of 2012 in this article.

Currently, though the hybrid buses and pure-electric buses show their fuel-efficient and environment-friendly advantages to the public, it is still lack of the mature technologies, perfect infrastructure to make the natural buses' operation well. Besides, the high cost of the new energy buses' operation also restricts the development of them. From the sales of the first ten months of the new energy buses in 2012, the slow sales growth show the slow development of the new energy buses. But as we know, as one of the good alternative fuels, the using of the natural gas in the buses will replace the high price of the oil used buses. The natural gas buses will eventually be  spontaneous attention by the end users and market.  

With the national strategy adjustment on the energy, now the natural gas is supplied to the major cities in China by the several gas fields. Among them, the natural gas transferring from the west to the east for five markets are Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui and Henan; The natural gas which is also imported from the Central Asia and Russia is transferred to Bohai Bay Area, Yangtze River Region Delta and Pearl River Region; The receiving stations of the LNG in the coastal areas of China are imported from Indonesia, Australia and Qatar. From the above natural gas strategy, it shows that the LNG buses might play a key role in energy-saving and environmental protection in the future.
　

Part One: Analysis of LNG Buses’ Sales in the First Ten Months of 2012

From the monthly sales, it is seen that the sales volume of the large LNG buses were larger than medium & small LNG buses. In China, the LNG Buses are mainly driving in the Midwest of China. The Midwest of China has three rich natural gas resources, so the LNG buses are widely used there due to the nearby rich resources and easy gas transportation.

By Oct. 2012, LNG bus regional markets are mainly in Beijing City, Shanghai City, Chongqi  City, Tianjing City, Sichuan Province, Hainan Province, Harbin City, Changchun City, Xian City, Urumchi, Guangzhou City, Yinchuan City, Jinan City, Qingdao City, Langfang City and Puyang City etc.

1. Monthly Sales Analysis of LNG Buses in the First Ten Months of 2011 & 2012

In Jan.-Oct. 2012, 3,813 units of LNG Buses were sold in China. Among the first ten months, the sales volume in June is the biggest and the sales growth of March is the highest.

Table One: Sales statistics of LNG buses in Jan. - Oct. 2012 & 2011

Chart One: Sales statistics of LNG buses in Jan. - Oct. 2012 & 2011

From above data, it is seen that　　

①The sale volumes growth of LNG buses in Jan. - Oct. 2012 are all in positive growth. Among them, the highest sales growth one is in March, representing 186.8 percent growth rate. And the sale volumes of the LNG buses in June is the biggest one, which is same as the sales of the bus industry.
　　

② The general sales growth of LNG buses in the first ten months of 2012 was 61.7% which is far higher than the large & medium buses' sales growth in the first ten months of 2012, which the sales growth was around 8%.

③ Though the sales volume of the LNG buses in Jan.- Oct. 2012 was not so big, its sales growth shows highly increasing trends.