Volkswagen’s latest step to repair its reputation following the Dieselgate scandal is to use low-emissions containers to ship its cars around the world.
For the first time ever this week, vehicles from Europe will be transported from Europe to North and Central America on a car freighter powered by liquefied natural gas.
It claims the freighter reduces carbon dioxide emissions by up to 25 per cent, nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 30 per cent, soot particles by up to 60 per cent and sulphur oxide emissions by up to 100 per cent.
VW’s new greener transport solutions: The German car maker will use the Siem Confucius (foreground) and sister freighter Aristotle (background) to ship vehicles to other markets
The ship – a Siem Confucius – set sail on Tuesday evening with more than 4,800 Volkswagen vehicles onboard.
It left the Port of Emden in North West Germany and will dock in Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico.
Siem Confucius is one of two LNG-powered vehicle transporters that will be used by the car maker, which was exposed in 2015 for selling cars cars with defeat devices to cheat official emissions tests.
Both Confucius and sister ship Siem Aristotle span 200 metres in length and 38 metres wide.
They have 13 car decks and a capacity to carry up to 7,500 units. VW’s first shipment is around 4,800 motors, made up of a mix of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles – the latter of which take up more space.
The ships are powered by 12,600 kW dual-fuel marine engines with direct injection and exhaust gas.
Both ships have 13 car decks and the capacity to carry up to 7,500 units at a time. Pictured: Siem Confucius before transporting 4,800 vehicles from Germany the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday
The introduction of more eco-friendly shipping transport is part of the manufacturer’s efforts to repair its reputation following Dieselgate
In eco-speed mode they travel at a speed of 16.5 knots (19mph).
The two tanks in each ship, each holding 1,800 cubic metres, are sufficient to cover the entire distance across the Atlantic with the fuel stowed in Europe.
In addition to liquid, deep-frozen natural gas, the car carriers could also be operated with biogas or E-gas from regenerative sources.
The introduction of more eco-friendly shipping transport is part of the manufacturer’s efforts to repair its reputation following Dieselgate.
By 2025, the company says it aims to reduce its total net CO2 emissions by 30 per cent and be get CO2-neutral in 2050.
Volkswagen is already well underway with production of the first model in its dedicated pure-electric ID range, with the ID.3 hatchback due to arrive with customers later this year.
Worker wearing protective mask at the Volkswagen assembly line after VW re-starts Europe’s largest car factory in Wolfsburg in April
Volkswagen cars presented at the storage facility auto tower belonging to the German car maker in northern Germany
Some 7,700 container ships depart worldwide to transport new VW models across the globe each year. Pictured: The Volkswagen Amarok assembly line in General Pacheco, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina
The manufacturer recently announced deliveries have been been delayed to September – and these will only be the initial 30,000 1st Edition models, which will cost from around £33,000 in the UK (taking into account the £3,000 Plug-In Car Grant).
Speaking about the maiden journey this week,Thomas Zernechel, head of Volkswagen Group Logistics, said: ‘We are proud to put the world’s first LNG vehicle transporter of this size into service. This is an important part of our decarbonisation strategy.
‘We have to take action now, because ships like the LNG freighter Siem Confucius and soon its sister ship Siem Aristotle will be in service for many years,’ he added.
Some 7,700 container ships depart worldwide to transport new VW models across the globe each year, the group said.
Several hundred liners and eleven car freighter charter ships, two of which are now being replaced by the LNG units, sail the world’s oceans for the Group every day as part of efforts to deliver 2.8 million new cars a year.
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