Life & Style | Motoring

Brazil powers ahead in flex fuel vehicles

Driving in Brazil is indeed getting sweeter. Nearly 100 per cent of the new cars in the world's top sugar exporter are now ethanol-powered, according to Marcos Jank, president of the United Sugarcane Industry Union.

  • By Cleofe Maceda, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:08 February 18, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Driving in Brazil is indeed getting sweeter. Nearly 100 per cent of the new cars in the world's top sugar exporter are now ethanol-powered, according to Marcos Jank, president of the United Sugarcane Industry Union.

Jank visited the Middle East recently to speak at the Dubai Sugar Conference, where he underscored the significance of converting ethanol - which is derived from sugarcane and grain - into a global commodity.

He said ethanol will replace sugar as the leading product of the sugarcane industry in Brazil due to the growing fleet of new "flex fuel" cars in the domestic market.

Flex fuel cars can be powered by petrol, ethanol or a combination of both. They are part of Brazil's ethanol campaign, which provided nearly 700,000 jobs and cut oil imports when it began in 2003.

"Today, ethanol represents more than 40 per cent of the light fuel market and 90 per cent of the new cars are flex fuel. No other country has been moving so fast in the flex fuel market," Jank said.

According to industry estimates, 20 per cent of Brazil's cars are equipped to run on sugarcane-based ethanol. Jank said the ethanol-driven fleet will expand to 50 per cent in 2012 and 65 per cent in 2015. "So in 2012, we will have more flex fuel cars in Brazil."

Jank noted that technically, 100 per cent of the cars in Brazil are now running on ethanol because Brazilian gasoline is blended with 25 per cent alcohol.

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