WHITE van man is going green with the introduction of a gas powered engine from Volkswagen.
The VW Caddy EcoFuel will be on sale in the summer and will be the first compact panel van in the UK to use compressed natural gas.
An eco friendly version of the larger Caddy Maxi is also being introduced.
Using CNG is said to reduce fuel costs and emissions by up to 50 per cent compared to diesel engines.
Both vehicles are fitted with a three gallon petrol tank as a reserve, which is automatically engaged should the gas supply run out.
The Caddy EcoFuel is claimed to have a range of around 350 miles while the Maxi is said to be capable of traveling 430 miles between fill ups.
The engine in the Caddy EcoFuel is a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre petrol unit which has been optimised to use either CNG or petrol.
It has CO2 emissions of 157g/km, over 20 per cent lower than a conventional petrol engine.
Producing 109 PS and 118 lbs ft of torque at 3,500 rpm, with a five-speed manual transmission, it can accelerate from a standstill to 62 mph in 13.8 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 105 mph.
There is no reduction of performance compared to the nearest equivalent conventionally-fuelled engine in the Caddy range, the 1.9-litre TDI PD, which delivers 104PS, 184 lbs ft of torque at 1,900 rpm, a 0-62 mph time of 13.3 seconds and top speed of 103 mph.
On both vans the gas tanks are fitted under the body and do not impinge on the load area.
Prices will be announced in late spring.