Peugeot to launch flex-fuel models in Europe, via used car market in Africa
Quicknote biofuels technology
Peugeot SA said it favours the French government's efforts to promote the use of flex-fuel motors, and will introduce next year two models able to run on gasoline as well as E85, a biofuel consisting of 85% ethanol. Peugeot already produces flex-fuel versions of its cars in Brazil, which represent 80% of its total sales in the country. The Peugeot 307 and the Citroen C4 will be offered with flex-fuel motors from mid-2007 throughout Europe, a company spokesman said.
Peugeot considers that a widespread introduction of small quantities of ethanol in gasoline, which could be done without changing existing engines, would be 'the most efficient and least expensive' option for increasing biofuel use, the spokesman said. Standard Peugeot engines in Europe can already accept up to 10 pct ethanol in gasoline, while its diesel engines can run on a mix of up to 30 pct biofuel made from rapeseed, a combination known as 'diester'. The French government wants biofuels to represent 5.75 pct of total consumption at filling stations across France in 2008, two years ahead of a deadline called for by the European Commission.
Via a detour, this news is important to people in francophone West and Central Africa, where the vast used car market, which is many times bigger than the market for new cars (earlier post), is dominated by french brands Peugeot, Citroën and Renault. (For an anthropological study on this fascinating market, see "Cotonou's klondike : a sociological analysis of entrepreneurship in the Euro-West African second-hand car trade" [*.pdf], by economic anthropologist Jan Joost Beuving). Most car owners in this part of the world drive second hand cars and no major car manufacturer has production plants on the continent. Given this reality, the introduction of flex-fuel cars in Africa will happen via the European used car market. Flex-fuel cars are expected to capture a significant market share of European car sales over the coming years. It then takes between 5 and 10 years before these used flex-fuel cars would appear in French speaking West and Central Africa. [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sustainability :: flex-fuel :: Europe :: Africa ::
Peugeot SA said it favours the French government's efforts to promote the use of flex-fuel motors, and will introduce next year two models able to run on gasoline as well as E85, a biofuel consisting of 85% ethanol. Peugeot already produces flex-fuel versions of its cars in Brazil, which represent 80% of its total sales in the country. The Peugeot 307 and the Citroen C4 will be offered with flex-fuel motors from mid-2007 throughout Europe, a company spokesman said.
Peugeot considers that a widespread introduction of small quantities of ethanol in gasoline, which could be done without changing existing engines, would be 'the most efficient and least expensive' option for increasing biofuel use, the spokesman said. Standard Peugeot engines in Europe can already accept up to 10 pct ethanol in gasoline, while its diesel engines can run on a mix of up to 30 pct biofuel made from rapeseed, a combination known as 'diester'. The French government wants biofuels to represent 5.75 pct of total consumption at filling stations across France in 2008, two years ahead of a deadline called for by the European Commission.
Via a detour, this news is important to people in francophone West and Central Africa, where the vast used car market, which is many times bigger than the market for new cars (earlier post), is dominated by french brands Peugeot, Citroën and Renault. (For an anthropological study on this fascinating market, see "Cotonou's klondike : a sociological analysis of entrepreneurship in the Euro-West African second-hand car trade" [*.pdf], by economic anthropologist Jan Joost Beuving). Most car owners in this part of the world drive second hand cars and no major car manufacturer has production plants on the continent. Given this reality, the introduction of flex-fuel cars in Africa will happen via the European used car market. Flex-fuel cars are expected to capture a significant market share of European car sales over the coming years. It then takes between 5 and 10 years before these used flex-fuel cars would appear in French speaking West and Central Africa. [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: sustainability :: flex-fuel :: Europe :: Africa ::
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