LPG-powered cars now in Subic Bay

SUBIC BAY – A Japanese company based in this freeport has introduced cars powered by liquified petroleum gas (LPG).

Hidemitsu Holdings, Inc. has inked a contract with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for a factory that would sell LPG-powered cars and convert ordinary cars to be able to run using LPG.

The company is a conglomerate of Filipino, Japanese and Italian owners and is currently managed by Italian businessman Peter Gerud.

"This is the world’s answer to air pollution and it is now in the Philippines. It is environment-friendly simply because its non-carbon emitting," Gerud said.

The Land Transportation Office has sent a team to test the LPG cars for smoke emission and found a 0.01 percent result or negative smoke density.

Gerud added that converting gasoline and diesel engines into LPG-powered ones can double the life span of the engines because LPG prevents carbon from settling on the engines’ internal parts.

The LPG cars are equipped with tanks identical to the common LPG used for cooking which contain some 100 liters of gas. They can normally run up to 500 kilometers with a full tank.

The cars are also fitted with a device designed to pump LPG into the carburetor. Because LPG is fire-sensitive and a slight spark can trigger an explosion, a safety valve is connected to the engine to ensure that a slight leak would automatically turn the engine off to avoid accident.

Hidemitsu Holdings Inc. will give some 12 units of the LPG cars to SBMA and targets to distribute some 300 to 400 units to the Philippine National Police in the coming years. It is also putting up refilling stations inside the freeport and several parts of Metro Manila starting next year.