Ethanol version of the Volvo C30 coming in January to Europe?

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An Autoblog reader in Sweden noticed in his (her?) local newspaper, the Göteborgs Posten, that Volvo will be coming out with ethanol-ready versions of its smallest car, the C30, which was unveiled earlier this year at the Detroit Auto Show. The reader kindly translated the piece and sent it in. Based on that information, here's the scoop.

The C30, when it goes on sale next January, will be offered in a "version for ethanol" (that's annoyingly unclear, but Volvo has been offering E85 flexible fuel vehicles in Sweden for a while). The C30 is based on the S40/V50, which is available as an ethanol model in Sweden. Volvo has decided to expand its Flexifuel lineup to other European countries (France, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway are on the list of possibilities) but not to America. Volvo has stopped making cars that run on biogas and natural gas, signaling a shift toward other alternative fuels. The company has sold about 5,500 ethanol cars in Sweden. What putting ethanol into the C30 means for Volvo's larger cars is unknown, but with Ford promoting ethanol in the U.S., it is pretty certain Volvo will continue to increase its Flexifuel lineup.

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[Source: Göteborgs Posten, Hat Tip to ulf]

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