Ethanol E85 cans: a market on the rise, but still too small


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More and more motorists are seduced by Superethanol (E85) following soaring fuel prices and falling purchasing power. The study conducted by L’Argus and NGC-Data reviews the figures for a growing market.

With soaring prices at the pump and declining purchasing power, manufacturers of superethanol conversion kits, also called E85, pride themselves on breaking sales records. Less taxed, and therefore less expensive, Ethanol E85 is indeed a solution to reduce travel costs. Argus and NGC-Data looked at data from Ethanol E85 canister installations.

The two major conversion kit makers, Biomotors and Flexfuel Energy Development, are smiling. Driven by the rise in the price of conventional fuels, they have never sold as many boxes as in this first quarter of 2022. Biomotors thus announces an increase of 186% in the month of March alone compared to last year, when the second indicates having recorded 10 times more orders in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

Market growing, but limited

Based on private vehicles which have seen their gray card transformed after switching to Ethanol E85, the figures are spectacular. In the first quarter of 2022, the growth in conversion kit installations reached 700% compared to the same period in 2021. In absolute terms, volumes nevertheless remain quite low for a country like France. Only 9,220 private vehicles were adapted in 2022, a figure to be compared to the 1.39 million used cars exchanged at the same time, underlines L’Argus and NGC-Data.

Focused on the occasion

Moreover, the survey shows that these transformations mainly concern fairly old vehicles. Nearly a third of them were carried out on models over eight years old, and only 386 on cars less than two years old. This finding is not surprising, because the installation of an E85 box is not completely harmless, this fuel being more corrosive than unleaded and has a lower calorific value.

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super ethanol e85 bioflex

Moreover, the authors of the survey point out, “The law obliges manufacturers to cover parts in contact with ethanol, such as the engine, the tank or the fuel system. But in the event of a problem while the vehicle is still under warranty, the risk is that the car manufacturer and the manufacturer of the case will pass the buck to each other with possible long-term immobilization at stake, while their respective experts render their verdict. .” Thus, many motorists seduced by these conversion kits prefer to play it safe and wait until the manufacturer’s warranty has expired to install a box.

On the French market

In the game of manufacturers who have most often converted to E85, three Frenchmen monopolize the podium: Renault ahead of Peugeot and Citroën. Dacia ranks fourth, while the other two heavyweights in the industry, Toyota and Volkswagen, only appear in 9th and 8th positions respectively – Ford, Opel and Fiat are indeed ahead. In addition, buyers of premium brands seem hardly interested in these ethanol boxes: Audi is only 16th, BMW 18th and Mercedes 21st. As for Porsche owners, in the first quarter of 2022, only 10 took the plunge, compared to 0 in 2020 and 2021.

ford superethanol e85

Ford is one of the few manufacturers to have a dedicated E85 game. © Erick Fontaine – Digital

City dwellers first

In this context, the study shows without surprise that the models most often adapted to the E85 are also best-sellers on the French market. The Renault Clio is thus in first place with 734 conversions. She is ahead of her cousin Dacia Sandero, while the Citroën C3 finishes 3rd. The 208 (the first Peugeot) finished for its part behind the Twingo in 5th position, but remember that the city car with the lion was born only 10 years ago and has only two generations. It is therefore penalized in a market that gives pride of place to sometimes old vehicles.

In all cases, the ranking is dominated by city cars. The first SUV, the Renault Captur, is only in 10th place. The surprise arises in 12th place occupied by the Fiat Tipo which is ahead of that of the Golf while, again, the latter is older and present on the second-hand market. Despite everything, the volumes remain low with barely more than 100 boxes installed in three months throughout France for each of these two models.

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