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Flexi-fuel sales increase as more bio-fuel stations open |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 15 August 2007 |
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Sales of Ford’s ‘Flexi-Fuel’ (FFV) cars, capable of running on conventional petrol, renewable biofuel or any mix of the two, are soaring as the number of stations providing the fuel is increasing. Almost 300 cars have been sold or ordered already this year, compared with total FFV sales of just 42 units for 2006.
The Ford Focus LX FFV accounted for the 42 units sold last year. Sales of the car so far this year have risen to 147, with a further 48 cars on order. The C-MAX FFV, Ford’s compact MPV, which was introduced earlier this year, has already clocked up sales of 70 units, with another 27 on order.
E85 bioethanol, made from a milk derivative at cheese-maker Carbery in Cork, is now distributed at 21 Maxol service stations in Ireland, with more stations expected to carry the fuel by the end of the year. The per litre price of bioethanol is currently 20 per cent below that of petrol. Running on bioethanol, an FFV can reduce the CO2 footprint for the car by up to 80 per cent in comparison to similar cars.
“Early 2008 will see the Ford FlexiFuel range extended to other cars in the line-up, including the Mondeo, S-MAX and Galaxy, providing a further boost to this environmentally-friendly alternative to the conventional petrol car,” comments Denis McSweeney, Marketing Director, Ford Ireland.
“Customers are recognising the environmental and economic sense that FFV makes, aided by incentives such as the VRT rebate, the VAT rebate on E85 bioethanol and even a reduction in insurance premia.”
“We are especially pleased with the uptake on the new flexifuel version of the C-MAX compact MPV.”
Due to a VRT rebate, the prices of FFVs undercut those of conventional cars. After such rebates, the Focus FFV LX 5-door and the high-spec C-MAX Activ FFV are available for just €20,710 and €22,139 respectively.
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