Natural-gas-powered Chrysler minivans will be ready for sale early next year, says Chrysler Corp.

The minivans will probably enter the market first in commercial fleets because they have better access to central refueling facilities.The seven-passenger natural-gas minivan is being developed under an agreement with Gas Research Institute in Chicago and Southern California Gas Co., the nation's largest natural gas distribution company.

Chrysler already has developed an electric Dodge Caravan minivan, but its acceleration is much slower than the natural gas-powered counterpart and its top speed is much slower, said Richard O. Schaum, executive engineer of Chrysler's Minivan Platform Powertrain Engineering.

"Chrysler remains fuel neutral. We're trying to find the best alternative fuel for the transportation needs of our customers throughout this country in the coming years," Schaum said.

"The bottom line is that Chrysler will continue to use its engineering expertise to develop the best vehicles it can and we'll let our customers decide which fuel works best for them."

Earlier this month, the California Air Resources Board certified the full-size 1993 Dodge Ram Van and Wagon, powered by compressed natural gas, as the cleanest vehicle ever produced. The two models, which went into production last March, meet California's stringent pollution requirements five years ahead of schedule.

"We believe there will be more than one million natural gas vehicles on the road by the end of the decade and almost five million by 2010," said Stephen D. Ban, president of Gas Research Institute, a nonprofit industry research group.

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Jack Smith, natural-gas-vehicle marketing manager for Southern California Gas, said there are more than 600 fueling stations across the country. He said about three more open each week.

"In the Los Angeles area, where the quality of air is the poorest in the nation, we will have more than 50 natural gas fueling stations installed by the end of this year," Smith said. "Our plans call for us to open one new station every 10 days for at least the next four years."

Ultimately, the industry foresees consumers putting natural gas hookups in their garages for fuel fill-ups.

Chrysler said it has yet to establish how many natural-gas-powered minivans it plans to produce next year. But they will be built according to market demand, company officials say.

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