National Farmers' Union takes 150th Ford biofuel car

Ford has delivered the 150th Ford Focus Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) registered in Britain to the National Farmers' Union. Vice president Paul Temple is using the car, which can run on bioethanol made from UK-grown crops such as wheat and sugar beet.

Over one million hectares of arable land in this country could be turned over to biofuel crops without affecting food production. Ford's Focus FFV and C-MAX FFV can run on any mix of bioethanol or petrol in the same fuel tank.

Bioethanol processing plants are under construction in Somerset, handling wheat, and in Norfolk, using sugar beet. Bioethanol is currently sold on 13 Morrisons forecourts as an E85 blend, referring to its 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent petrol mix. E85 pumps are in Somerset, Norfolk, Suffolk, Derbyshire, Northants and South Wales.

Andy Taylor, Ford's European sustainability director, said: "Winning the farmers' backing in our campaign for further recognition of bioethanol as a renewable transport fuel is an important step. Ford was first into this market last year with the FFV Focus, followed by the FFV C-MAX. We look forward to working with more farmers and others in the agricultural sector to drive forward bioethanol motoring."

Ford's FFV vehicles are priced the same as their petrol-only equivalents – from £14,345 for the Focus and £14,795 for C-MAX. Research by Imperial College, London, puts Ford FFV emissions at 99.6g/km when CO2 absorption by crops grown to make bio-ethanol is factored in – lower than comparable vehicles using hybrid technology.

Paul Temple said: “As the NFU’s 'Why Farming Matters' report highlighted, agriculture can play a key role in the fight against climate change through the production of biofuels, which reduce carbon emissions and help provide a clean and secure source of energy.

“What better way to show this in action than through the use of car that is powered by biofuel. Driving a bioethanol-powered vehicle is no different to driving a normal petrol car and is much better for the environment.

“We want to see this kind of fuel made available on a widespread basis and it’s good to see companies like Ford taking up the challenge.”

Mr Temple will fill up with bioethanol wherever possible as he travels around the country on NFU business.