For these reasons it is not a good idea to buy a second-hand CNG natural gas car

From becoming one of the most profitable fuels along with GLP, NCG It became a real nightmare for users who opted for cars with engines adapted to run on this type of gas. Initially, the savings offset its main disadvantage, the shortage of supply stations.. But in late 2021 and early 2022, in just a few days, The price of a liter of CNG has practically tripled, reaching 3 euros per kilogram by mid-2022.

Logically, sales of this type of car fell at the same speed as the price of CNG rose, to the point that the few brands that continued to bet on this solution ended up withdrawing it from their offer. The decision was also greatly influenced by the Arrival of mild hybrid engines, which allowed brands that were betting on CNG to have versions with eco label, mainly those of the Volkswagen Group, literally see an "open door".

The fact is that, as the registration figures reveal, last July only nine units of the Seat Arona, six of the Seat Leon, five of the Skoda Octavia and three of Seat Ibiza with CNG engines, in all cases cars that remained in stock, after the decision of the brands to stop marketing CNG versions. A couple of years before Audi y Volkswagen They had already lost the battle with LPG, monopolized in our market by Dacia and Renault, cancelling the development of this technology, which had little demand, to focus on electrification.

Cheap used CNG cars: more risk than opportunity

Thus, and with the limited supply of new CNG models practically limited to the commercial vehicle sector, It is not difficult to find CNG cars on the used market today at very attractive prices., from Seat Arona or Leon TGI to Audi A3 o A4 Avant G-tron, going through the models Octavia y Kamiq Skoda cars, usually with low mileage. A real temptation, especially now that the price of CNG seems to have stabilised again and it is now possible to refuel CNG for less than one euro per kg.

But be careful if you are not familiar with this technology, because these are the problems you may encounter if you choose one of these cars:

• The supply network remains limited, with just 107 service stations supplying CNG in Spain, as of August 2023. And given what has been seen, there are not many options for this to change in the future, either in the medium or long term.
• If you think that this may not be a problem because, just like LPG cars, CNG cars can also run on gasoline, be very careful. CNG vehicles from the latest generation of Seat, Skoda or Audi, with CNG still on the rise as an alternative to traditional fuels, They decided to reduce their gasoline tanks to a minimum to make more room for CNG and prioritize the use of gas. Therefore, you should bear in mind that these cars only have petrol tanks of about 10 litres, little more than the reserve in a normal car, so you will not be able to make trips with petrol of more than 200 km, in most cases.
• And if neither of these two disadvantages scares you, for example because you have a CNG station near your home and you are not going to use the car to travel, be careful: remember that The price of CNG has tripled in just a few weeks, and in the current situation no one can guarantee that it is something that cannot happen again..