The Isuzu NPR 400 trucks were delivered in February 2005 to Gosford City Council as part of the council's Clean Air Initiative.

Isuzu said the program was designed to address environmental emissions in the regional New South Wales city.

"Isuzu CNG trucks have long been favoured in urban applications in Japan where the impact of exhaust emissions is most felt, and there is no reason why they can't be used in specific applications in our [Australian] cities," Isuzu spokesperson Simon Humphries said. "Restricting the release of greenhouse gases to our atmosphere is an important step in sharing the planet responsibly."

"Compared with the equivalent diesel powered model, the CNG reduces particulate matter by almost 100%, the trucks' nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by between 50 –70% and total hydrocarbons reduced by 60-75%," Humphries said.

"And I am confident that Gosford City's embracing of CNG vehicles will pave the way for other councils to also adopt this environmentally responsible technology."

The NPR 400 is powered by a four cylinder, four stroke OHC naturally aspirated spark ignition engine producing 88kW at 3400rpm and 323Nm torque at 1500rpm. Power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.