Ford wins a prize for E85 promotion in Europe; a Flexifuel Focus is itself a prize

The European Biomass Industries Association (EUBIA) has awarded Ford a prize for the range and the promotion of Flexifuel cars, able to run either with standard gasoline or E85. The prize was given during the 15th Conference on Biomass, held in Berlin this week.

The Director of Ford Europe's strategy on biofuels, Jan Brentebraten, thanked the prize board by affirming that "Flexifuel technology is already available and is good both for the environment and for the consumer. [...] It's also the simplest way to reduce CO2 emissions, as long as the necessary infrastructures for E85 are developed."

Currently, most of the Flexifuel cars in Europe are sold in Sweden, where Ford offers the Focus (Euro-spec) and the C-MAX (a compact MPV based on the Focus). Plans are to install E85 compatibility on the new Mondeo, the Galaxy MPV and the S-MAX, becoming the largest offering in Europe.

Ford is also promoting this technology in 12 additional European countries. One of the most remarkable campaigns is being held in Spain, where a Ford Focus Flexifuel 1.8 is offered as an additional prize for a lottery game called "El Combo", which benefits ONCE, Spain's Blind Organisation (However, no gas stations in Spain sell E85, according to the Ministry of Industry, so what's the point?).