Mercedes Benz considers natural gas powered vehicles for U.S.

At this week's Washington Auto Show, Mercedes Benz plans to showcase its compact B-Class hatch with a powertrain designed to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). The carmaker already sells a dual-fuel version of the B-Class in Europe that runs on either petrol or CNG or a combination of the two, and that model could one day be sold here. William Craven, general manager of regulatory affairs for Daimler's Washington office, confirmed to Automotive News the company's interest in testing the market for CNG-powered vehicles in the United States.