"City of Tomorrow" opens in Malmö: Swedish Royal Couple Arrives in an Opel Zafira Fueled by Natural Gas

FOR RELEASE: May 18, 2001

"City of Tomorrow" opens in Malmö: Swedish Royal Couple Arrives in an Opel Zafira Fueled by Natural Gas

Malmö/Rüsselsheim - An Opel Zafira 1.6 CNG fueled by natural gas drove the Swedish royal couple to the official opening of the "Bo01 - City of Tomorrow" project in Malmö, Sweden yesterday. The environmentally friendly Zafira CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is the official car for this living European project representing the model city of the future. The project shows, among other things, ways of providing residential accommodation with a sustainable supply of renewable energy, IT solutions for modern living and the deployment of environmentally friendly transport systems.

Ten gas-powered Zafiras will be part of a car-sharing pool in the experimental city where they will be fueled by bio-gas produced within the city. The natural gas version of the successful Opel compact van will go into series production this summer.

The "City of Tomorrow", in a former industrial area in the western harbor of Malmö consists essentially of a newly built residential area with 600 apartments as well as shops, businesses and restaurants. Until September 16, the project will be flanked by an exhibition focussing on environmental developments.

The main advantage of the natural gas fuel system on board the Zafira CNG (74 kW/100 hp) is the excellent economy achieved by low consumption (5.5 kg per 100 kilometers) and low fuel costs. Another advantage is that natural gas, with a higher hydrogen content and lower carbon content than gasoline or diesel, has a far lower impact on the environment. The emission of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and carbon monoxides (CO) is reduced by up to 90 percent, that of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 30 percent, and that of hydrocarbons (HC) by 45 percent.