VAUXHALL has launched Britain's first dual fuel gas/petrol light van available with a one-year manufacturers' warranty and is to launch gas-powered cars next year. The 'green' Combo van costs £10,920 (excluding VAT) and is £1,965 more than the petrol Combo 1.4i (hi-torq) Merit model on which it is based. Fleets can recover up to 50% of the cost of converting to gas from the Energy Saving Trust.

Vauxhall expects to sell 'at least' 150 models of the van this year with government agencies and environment-related organisations, as well as local authority, delivery and depot-based fleets expected to be at the forefront of demand.The company is expected to launch dual-fuel versions of the 2.0-litre Vectra and Omega, but while the Combo is powered by compressed natural gas the cars will run on liquefied petroleum gas, which is more widely available.

Vauxhall expects that 15% of all vans sold by the year 2000 will be gas-powered with 5-15% of cars sold running on LPG by the turn of the century. In a bid to boost demand Vauxhall has launched a demonstration fleet of 30 gas-powered Combos, with the possibility of a further 20 being added should demand be high. The fleet will be available on short-term loan to companies and local authorities.