Two of France's leading organizations, Peugeot and Gaz de France, have formed a collaboration to bring a natural gas powered car to the market by 2007.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, the biggest car maker in France and one of the biggest car groups in Europe, and former state gas utility GDF will work on prototype vehicles in the south of France over the next two years before hopefully launching a commercial version.
The car, which will use gas and compression dynamics to generate movement, will be developed by Peugeot’s Citroen arm. Over the two year trial period the gas car will be seen mostly on test runs in the city of Toulouse and the surrounding Haute-Garonne region.
Meanwhile, to ensure the next-generation Citroen car is commercially viable after its scheduled 2007 public launch, the collaborators have already planned the development of a new network of natural gas filling stations in France. Peugeot and GDF have already reached an agreement with Carrefour, France’s biggest supermarket chain, to open the first station in the opening quarter of 2006.