Nissan launches first Japanese ethanol trials with Murano

Japan has apparently not been nearly as aggressive as countries like the United States, Brazil and Sweden in promoting ethanol as a motor fuel but that may soon change. Nissan has just launched the first government sanctioned ethanol trial in Japan with a Murano crossover. An E10-capable Murano is currently undergoing tests to monitor fuel consumption and emissions as well as vehicle reliability. The test program will kick off on April 1 in the Tokachi area of Hokkaido. The ethanol is being produced from wheat and sugar beets deemed sub-standard for food consumption. The ethanol plant will have a capacity of 3.9 million US gallons of ethanol and Japan hopes to use it to supplant 1 percent of the gasoline used on Hokkaido annually.

[Source: DueMotori.com, thanks to Domenick for the tip]