Toyota developing gasoline-alcohol vehicle for Latin America Jun 12, 2005 http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050612/sc_afp/japanlatamautotoyota_050612222210
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor has begun developing a "flex-fuel" vehicle powered by gasoline and lower-priced alcohol fuel, and aimed at the Brazilian and other Latin American markets, a newspaper reported. Toyota aims to launch the new vehicle in the second half of next year or later, with the demand for alcohol fuel made from sugarcane or other plants rising as alternative to gasoline in Latin America, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. A flex-fuel car runs with both gasoline and alcohol pumped into a single tank, allowing the driver to adjust the mixture between the two depending on their prices, the economic daily noted. In Brazil the prices of ethanol, a type of alcohol fuel, are only half those of gasoline and drivers are allowed to adjust the ratio between the two fuels, it said. Toyota, the pioneer of a hybrid car powered alternately by gasoline and electricity, did not develop flex-fuel cars before because alcohol fuel is not allowed to exceed three percent of the total in Japan, it said. But the company now sees strong demand for such vehicles in Latin America as well as growing consumer interest in other emerging markets such as China and India, the paper said without citing sources. The Nihon Keizai said all foreign carmakers operating in Brazil, except for Toyota and Honda Motor, were already marketing flex-fuel cars. No immediate comment on the report was available from Toyota. --- AFX News Limited Toyota to develop cars powered by gasoline/alcohol, eyes Brazil market -report 06.12.2005 http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2005/06/12/afx2088397.html TOKYO (AFX) - Toyota Motor Corp has begun working to develop so-called 'flex fuel' vehicles powered by gasoline and alcohol, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. Demand for alcohol made from sugarcane is growing as an alternative fuel to gasoline, especially in Latin America. Toyota hopes to market new flex fuel vehicles in the second half of next year at the earliest because Latin America, where new car sales are rising sharply, is one of the priority markets for the carmaker. A flex fuel car runs safely with both gasoline and alcohol pumped into a single tank, allowing the driver to adjust the mixture between the two fuels depending on their prices. In Brazil, the prices of ethanol, a type of alcohol fuel, are only half those of gasoline and drivers in the country are allowed to adjust the ratio between the two fuels. As a result, flex fuel cars account for some 50 pct of the total in the country as of this May, up from 22 pct last year. Until now, Toyota has not developed such cars because alcohol fuel is not allowed to exceed 3 pct of the total in Japan. But all foreign carmakers operating in Brazil, except for Toyota and Honda Motor Co, are already marketing flex fuel cars. The company now sees promise in this car category, as increased amounts of such vehicles are also selling in China and India. Toyota sold 260,000 new cars in Latin America last year, of which sales in Brazil reached a record 50,000 units. Brazil is the world's largest producer of bioethanol made from sugarcane. Although it releases carbon dioxide when burned, its emissions are counted as zero under the Kyoto Protocol because the fuel is derived from plants. In the US state of California, too, use of gasoline with 10 pct ethanol is growing, the report said. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list [email protected] http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
