1,000th Citroën Berlingo Dual Fuel Conversion

The 1,000th Citroën Berlingo 600 LX 1.4i van has just been converted for dual fuel (petrol/LPG) operation by Nicholson McLaren Engines (NME). The NME Berlingo dual fuel van is exempt from the London Congestion Charge as it meets Powershift Band 4 emissions standards.

This provides Congestion Charge zone based operators of Berlingo dual fuel vans with a significant cost saving of £1,696 p.a. as well as providing fuel cost savings*. Typically a Berlingo dual fuel van covering 10,000 miles per annum will virtually repay the cost of conversion in its first year of operation.

The 1000th NME dual fuel Berlingo is one of five bought by Woolwich-based building contractor Maulyte Ltd. The vans, which are being supplied by Citroën City, London E1, will be used by the company’s skilled tradesmen working throughout the recently extended London Congestion Charge zone. John Creamer, a Maulyte director, explains, “We chose Berlingo dual fuel vans for their combination of high levels of standard equipment, competitive pricing and their London Congestion Charge zone exemption, which will provide major cost savings during their three year life with the company.”

Robert Handyside, Citroën’s commercial vehicle operations manager, says, “For operation in Congestion Charge zones, the Berlingo dual fuel is a practical, productive and very economical solution. Whether it is intensive urban operation or inter-city courier use from a London base, the NME converted Berlingo dual fuel has proved to be an exceptionally reliable and economical transport option. We have seen NME converted dual fuel Berlingos covering up to 200,000 miles with total reliability.”

Fitted to the Euro IV 1.4i 75hp powered Berlingo 600 LX van, the NME dual fuel conversion costs £2,000 + VAT. The conversion includes either a 43 litre LPG tank mounted in place of the spare wheel or a 100 litre tank fitted in the load area. NME’s conversion includes a state-of-the-art sequential, common rail, gas injection system, which has been specifically developed for Berlingo Euro IV engines. Common rail gas injection allows the LPG to be injected at high pressure into the engine’s inlet manifold, as close to the valves as possible, so that there is no risk of backfire (a problem associated with less sophisticated dual fuel technology).

The NME conversion also features a sophisticated master/slave synchronisation strategy of the fuel system’s ECU and the engine’s own electronic management system. This allows the dual fuel system to directly and accurately mimic the engine’s main ECU fuelling requirements to ensure optimum performance and economy. As such the NME Berlingo dual fuel van has the same performance characteristics as the petrol engined vehicle. The dual fuel Berlingo conversion  meets European standard R6701 and is fully European On Board Diagnosis (EOBD) compliant.

The Berlingo dual fuel conversion has the same 12,500 mile/annual service requirements as the original 1.4i petrol engined vehicle. All Berlingo dual fuel conversions are covered by a two year unlimited mileage/3 year, 100,000 mile warranty. In the Greater London area, there are 80 LPG filling stations and 1,286 UK wide – providing the UK with more LPG outlets per total number of filling stations than any other country in Europe.

* Annual comparative cost of operation in London Congestion Charge zone

* Based on a LPG cost of £2.09 per gallon and a diesel fuel cost of £4.22 per gallon, and an estimated   urban fuel consumption of 24.18mpg for the Berlingo dual fuel and 42.2mpg for a similarly-powered diesel van.

** Cost of annual congestion charge (252 days) as set by Transport For London.