Petrol price rises in the UK over recent weeks have stimulated interest in alternative fuelled cars according to independent monitor, CarPriceCheck.
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Since the beginning of March, car-buying activity for LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) dual-fuelled vehicles sold by Daewoo, Volvo and Vauxhall have risen by 31 percent. The trend coincides with news that Ford is to add equivalent power units to its best-selling Focus and Mondeo ranges during the summer.
Interest in hybrid models like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, which combine petrol and electric power, has also risen by over a quarter of normal levels.
LPG cars are cheaper to run with price per litre averaging 37.9p compared with 74.9p for unleaded 95-octane petrol at present. A UK motorist averaging 10,000 miles a year could expect to save £475 on fuel.
Although transaction prices have been relatively stagnant for such vehicles according to CarPriceCheck data, buyers are still able to enjoy an average market discount of 5-6 percent off most dual-fuelled vehicles.
Buying activity for diesel-powered cars is already up 38 percent since the start of year with transaction prices for the more economical and lower emission vehicles falling an average of 2.7 percent over the same period.
Motorists wanting to use LPG can reclaim up to 75 percent of the average £2,000 cost of converting an existing petrol model from the government-sponsored Powershift programme.
