Volkswagen To Ship Cars From Europe Fueled By LNG

The shipping of cars and parts from part of the continent to the other contributes more than its share; however, the company is working on it. VW has announced a deal where its cars shipped from Europe to North America using a new pair of ships fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The ship measures over 650 feet long and 118 feet in width capable of carrying 4,500 vehicles.

Each of the ship is powered by a single engine manufactured by MAN (Volkswagen's Truck & Bus division), is rated at nearly 17,000 horsepower and is fueled by an 800,000 gallon (approx. 3.28 lakh litres) tank below the decks.

The ships are operated by Siem Car Carriers AS, each of the ship is estimated to cut CO2 emissions by up to 25 percent, NOx by up to 30 percent, particulate matters by up to 60 percent and SOx by almost completely.

Initially, the ships will transport completed vehicles from VWs assembly lines in Europe to customers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This new arrangement will start from 2019.

Post which Volkswagen Group is planning to implement more LNG freighters to other parts of the globe as it wants to rely less on long-distance transport by truck and more on the shipping lanes.

With this new approach, Volkswagen could look to cut down emission not just emitting from their cars, but from every aspect of manufacturing to the time it is delivered to the customers.

This is indeed a good move from the auto major, but, it has to work a lot more to gain back the lost ground.