France gives thumbs up to E10

E10 fuel (a mixture of regular unleaded fuel and ethanol) has become the number one fuel in France after financial incentives made the biofuel more affordable and attractive, according to a report in Reuters.

France is the largest ethanol market in the European Union. According to statistics from trade group ePURE, France produced 2,375 million litres of ethanol in 2016, followed by Germany who produced 1,163 million litres and the UK who produced 985 million litres.

Unleaded SP95-E10 accounted for 38.5% of the total fuel sales in France during the month of September, according to data from France-based trade association Bioethanol Collective.

Ethanol-based gasoline topped the market share of regular SP95 (36.8%) and the higher octane SP98 (23.6%).

The data for 2017 up until September also sees SP95-E10 placed as the best-selling fuel by 0.7%.

According to Reuters, government tax breaks have made SP95-E10 the cheapest fuel on the market, normally 4 to 5 cents a litre cheaper than SP95, boosting its demand in among the French public. Distrust towards diesel after the Volkswagen case has also aided the growth of the ethanol-based fuel.