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As shown in Figure 5.15, the price differences go as high as 0.6EUR per litre of die-
sel and its CNG equivalent. The difference is given mainly by an exemption from or
a lower excise duty on CNG. For example, in Germany the excise duty for diesel fuel
is 0.47EUR/litre, which is almost twice as high as the excise duty for CNG. The high-
er price of diesel had also been driven by the high price of crude oil before 2015.
Figure 5.15:
Price differences between diesel fuel and CNG
Czech Republic
Croatia
0
0.7
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.6
Price difference [EUR/(litre/0.95kg)]
Germany
Hungary
Slovakia
Poland
Slovenia
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Also, the future expectations are that petrol and diesel prices will tend to fluctuate
together because of their strong dependence on the international crude oil market
and its strong ties to Middle East politics. Natural gas prices, however, are more lo-
cally driven and have proved to be less volatile than in the past, implying a much
more stable final price of CNG.
Concerning the total cost of ownership, NGVs have standard maintenance and
repair costs, but higher investment costs for the gas tank and gas valves. Keeping
the emission assessment in mind, a trend can be stated that diesel vehicles have
become and will become even more technically overcomplicated in order to meet
the stringent emissions standards. This will result in an increase in diesel vehicle
production costs, diesel vehicle purchase price increases, and diesel repair cost
increases. This price differential may further rise when authorities decide to subsi-
dise heavy-duty NGVs or impose stricter emission limits than EURO 6 in tenders for
new vehicles. Thus, the TSOs expect the breakeven point for NGVs, compared to
diesel vehicles, to move to a lower mileage figure in the future. This should further
foster the growth of the NGV fleet in the CEE region and the usage of NG for
transportation.