Russian Avtotor converted Chinese BAIC U5 Plus to methane

A sedan with gas cylinder equipment was presented at the XII St. Petersburg International Gas Forum. In addition to the fuel tank, the car has two cylinders for compressed gas – methane. This BAIC U5 Plus differs from the standard one in its efficiency: its power reserve is one and a half times greater than usual, and refueling costs 2.5 times less. The “gasification” of the Chinese sedan was carried out by the Kaliningrad Avtotor, which assembles BAIC models for the Russian market.

Back in the summer, Avtotor, the government of the Kaliningrad region, Gazprom and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation signed an agreement, one of the goals of which is to expand the line of gas-powered vehicles produced in Russia. By November, the Avtotor Innovation and Technology Center had developed the technology for converting the Chinese BAIC U5 Plus into a dual-fuel vehicle. For this, gas equipment from the Gazprom Gas Engine Systems company was used, which is produced at a plant in the Moscow region.

AvtotorAvtotor

This U5 Plus, in addition to the fuel tank, has two methane cylinders with a volume of 39 liters each – they are installed in the trunk in the spare wheel niche. The lack of a spare tire, in turn, is compensated by the presence of a repair kit. Using methane as a motor fuel is cheaper than refueling with gasoline: one cubic meter of methane is on average 2.5 times cheaper than one liter of gasoline. When using gasoline and natural gas motor fuel, the car’s mileage after a full refueling increases by one and a half times.

BAIC U5 Plus with LPG complies with the Euro-5 environmental class: when using methane, the volume of emissions of harmful substances from the car into the atmosphere is reduced by up to 10 times. In addition, the system for regulating the gas supply due to its complete combustion in the engine makes it possible to increase the service life of the vehicle by one and a half times. And finally, the use of methane is safe, since this gas is two times lighter than air and immediately evaporates when the equipment is depressurized.

The Avtotor press service notes that all equipment for using gas engine fuel is installed and tested at the factory and will not require additional certification. Cars will be produced with a record of the installation of gas equipment included in the title. Avtotor has already assembled a pilot batch of 20 bi-fuel sedans. When they will go on sale and how much they will cost is still unknown.

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