August 29, 2025. Natural gas vehicles (NGV) are gaining market share in heavy-duty transport, but their potential is greater. The technology’s penetration is advancing in buses, but also tractors and trucks, said Luiz Lázaro, Heavy-Duty Transport Executive at Cálidda, at the Sustainable Transport 2025 conference.
The shift from diesel to natural gas generates tangible savings. Cálidda’s calculations show encouraging results: in buses, it generates savings of up to USD21,636 annually. In tractors, it’s about USD12,372. In trucks, it’s around USD7,404. In an industry like transportation, which is closely tied to costs, every dollar matters.
One of the advantages of natural gas is that it is produced domestically and its price remains stable, unlike the petroleum-derived fuels that Peru imports.
Cálidda has created a CNG corridor that runs from Lima to Piura and now plans to extend it south: “We’re finalizing the first station in Arequipa around the end of the year,” said Lázaro. Another goal of the company is to also have one in the town of Huánuco. There are 340 NGV stations in the country.
The penetration rate for natural gas in trucks is currently 15%, with a 4% increase reported for trucks. For buses, it’s 12%.
“Our goals for 2025 as Cálidda are to reach 1,890 CNG units and have a total vehicle fleet of 10,000 units,” said the corporation representative.
