Swedes lose interest in E85 biofuel

• Sale of E85 cars drop 50% compared to 2010
• Diesel surge 60 per cent to take up biofuel slack
• Petrol cars remain at 15 per cent of market 

Sweden is a the biggest market for biofuel cars in Europe, their E85 ethanol-based fuel gained massive popularity in the earlier part of the decade but it seems that interest in this segment is suffering from a massive drop.

According to Schmidt AID, unlike the rest of Europe, Sweden's car market is enjoying strong demand and growth at the moment but new buyers are showing scant interest in biofuel cars but are more keen to purchase clean diesel variants.

Sweded was among the few countries that persuaded fuel companies to spend on ethanol infrastructure as they saw biofuel as the energy solution of the future but in reality consumers are beginning to realise the drawbacks of a fuel that contains up to a third less specific energy compared to petrol.



Many motorists in Sweden are reporting 30 per cent increase in fuel consumption as a result of using E85 which consists of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol.

Any savings they make at the pump in terms of price is paid back in terms of fuel consumption and more frequent visits to the petrol station.

On the other hand, the development of clean diesel engines have accelerated tremendously with many new technologies on offer and this has resulted in a significant rise in market interest, even in Sweden.

In the first eight months of the year, the Swedish diesel market grew by more than 60%.

Interest in electric and hybrid remains weak.

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