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German government drives down bioethanol ratio
10th April, 2008
Approximately 3.5 million vehicles registered in Germany are not fit for the biofuel blend
Approximately 3.5 million vehicles registered in Germany, most of them produced abroad, are not fit for the biofuel blend, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel says.
As a result, the government also lowered its target for the proportion of biofuels in overall fuel consumption in 2009 to 5% from 6.25% previously.
The EU's target for a ratio of 10% by 2020 is still within reach for Germany, and the ratio is set to climb to 8% in Germany by 2015.
Germany's vehicle importers' association VDIK estimates more than 1 million cars registered in Germany cannot run on petrol with the higher biofuel blend.
The German car makers association VDA, in turn, says that only 189,000 of cars produced by its members cannot tolerate the blend.
The proposed law was designed to help the German car industry achieve an EU target to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of their fleet to an average 120 grams per kilometre driven from 2012, which was imposed by the EU.
