The continued rise in gasoline prices as well as tighter rules on vehicle emissions are reviving automakers’ interests in alternative fuels specifically compressed natural gas or CNG. Toyota revealed plans to expand its line of alternatively-powered cars aside from the Prius by unveiling a new Camry Hybrid that will run on compressed natural gas rather than gasoline.

The new CNG Camry will be first exhibited at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. This is the second time that the Japanese automaker has attempted to promote a CNG vehicle. In 1999, Toyota sold a CNG powered Camry primarily to fleet customers but met little interest due to the low gasoline prices at that time. A drop in natural gas prices as well as its low pollution levels is making it an attractive alternative to gasoline.

CNG offers many advantages. It is much cheaper than gasoline and produces much lower exhaust emissions. CNG is also domestically-produced and using this fuel more can reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil imports. CNG also has a more established infrastructure compared to other alternative fuels such as hydrogen.

There are over 1.8 million miles of natural gas pipelines throughout the country. However, there are only about 1,000 CNG refueling stations across the country with fewer than 500 available to the public. There are plans to build many more.

Via Bloomberg