Seat and Snam Partner to Promote Natural Gas as Vehicle Fuel

   By Max Bernhard 
 

Volkswagen AG's (VOW.XE) Spanish car maker Seat and Italian gas utility Snam SpA (SRG.MI) agreed to partner on promoting compressed natural gas and biomethane as vehicle fuels, the two companies said Monday.

"For Seat, one out of every five vehicles sold in Italy uses CNG. With this agreement we aim to further enhance the development of compressed natural gas in Italy and export this success case to other countries," said Seat Chief Executive Luca de Meo.

The two companies said they also plan joint-research and development projects and the agreement could be extended to other Volkswagen brands.

Marco Alvera, the chief executive of Snam, said he believes natural gas to be the "most immediate solution to improving air quality in our cities, in addition to having environmental sustainability, performance and economic advantages."

Europe has long been a large market for diesel, but the technology and fuel type have been facing increasing backlash in the wake of Volkswagen's emissions scandal. The German car maker admitted in 2015 to having rigged some 11 million of its vehicles globally with software that allows them to dodge emissions tests.

Write to Max Bernhard at [e-mail]; @mxbernhard

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 26, 2018 07:01 ET (12:01 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.