Until recently, Skoda offered one of the largest model ranges with natural gas drive. But now the G-Tec models from the Czechs can no longer be ordered.
Whether Scala, Kamig or Octavia and even the small Citigo in the past: Skoda has always supported the strategy of the parent company Volkswagen to also offer some series with natural gas drive and has made corresponding offers in several vehicle classes. In 2018, the Czechs even presented the Vision X, a concept study that had a natural gas hybrid drive (see video).
But even Skoda's commitment was not able to gain wide acceptance of the fuel CNG in Germany. That's why the brand's G-Tec models "can no longer be ordered", as a brand spokesman confirmed when asked by auto-motor-und-sport.de. The natural gas versions of the Scala, Kamig and Octavia (see photo show) had already disappeared from the manufacturer's German website. They were also no longer mentioned in the latest versions of the data sheets and price and equipment lists. However, the Skoda spokesman did not want to answer the question of whether this is a temporary phenomenon or a permanent end.
Other VW brands are sticking with CNG models
However, it wouldn't come as a surprise if the latter were the case, given the continuing poor number of new registrations of natural gas vehicles. In the first half of 2022, their market share was just 0.1 percent, and the number of new registrations of cars with CNG drives fell by 75.2 percent compared to the same period last year. And that while the trend for LPG vehicles was exactly the opposite (0.5 percent market share for LPG cars; up 64.2 percent compared to the first half of 2021).
Other Volkswagen brands, on the other hand, are sticking to their natural gas models - at least for the time being. The core brand VW offers the Up, Polo, Golf and Caddy in a TGI variant. At Seat, the Arona, Ibiza and Leon are available with CNG drive. And Audi also continues to list the G-Tron versions of the A3, A4 and A5 on its website. However, this will be the last MQB model generation that is powered by natural gas on the market. For the time after that, the group has already announced its exit from this drive technology.
Conclusion
Natural gas has never played a relevant role as a car fuel in Germany and has even lost importance in the recent past. So it is not surprising that Skoda, one of the largest manufacturers, no longer offers CNG models. It remains to be seen whether this exit is permanent. However, since the VW Group no longer wants to offer any CNG models in the future, this could only be an anticipation of this decision.
