FILLING UP WITH ETHANOL SAVED BRAZILIAN DRIVER US$ 325 IN PAST 12 MONTHS

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Fueling a flex-fuel vehicle with ethanol instead of gasoline over a one-year period meant that a car owner in Brazil saved US$ 325 (considering that he or she drove a Chevrolet Celta – a compact – an average of 400 km, or 250 miles, per week).

The analysis was carried out by a researcher from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (CEPEA), Maria Cristina Marjotta-Maistro, and by an undergraduate student of Agronomy from Esalq/SP, Guilherme Augusto Asai.

Nearly five years after the launch of flex-fuel vehicles, the use of ethanol in lieu of gasoline offers significant financial advantages. If the difference between the price of ethanol and gasoline had remained at 53% in the past five years, as it was last year, savings on fuel would have totaled US$ 1,625.00.

The CEPEA study also showed that, in the five years since flex-fuel vehicles were introduced in Brazil, ethanol lost to gasoline only last March and April. That was when ethanol, experiencing a sudden increase in demand, passed the 70% price line when compared to gasoline.

Hear it from the horse's mouth - follow what's happening in the Brazilian ethanol market on Ethablog, the only blog in English dedicated to Brazilian ethanol.