Biofuel engines becoming bigger and better
An alternative-fuelled vehicle was shown at the Durban Motor Show, attracting a lot of attention. The all-new Fiat Uno Flex gives South Africans a glimpse at the upcoming developments in the motor industry.
Fiat Auto SA also showed the all-new Strada Flex X-Space at the Nampo show recently, proving yet again its commitment to biofuels.
The Strada Flex X-Space has the ability to run on ethanol – better known as ethanol – or petrol or any combination of the two. There is very little difference in the looks of the Strada Flex X-Space and its petrol-powered siblings. This helps explain why in Brazil, 95% of new Fiat vehicles sold are Flex models, which is more than 400 000 vehicles annually.
The potential exists that we could follow Brazil and if it happens, Fiat Auto SA will be able to supply Brazilian-sourced Flex vehicles immediately. Flex is derived from the word flexible – which is exactly what the Fiat Flex is all about – it can run on two or more sources of fuel.
A Flex engine management system automatically detects by means of an oxygen sensor what fuel or fuel mixture is present, and adjusts the engine settings accordingly and there are no problems mixing petrol and ethanol in the same tank.
Biofuel vehicles run on a fuel made from renewable biological sources, namely maize, soybeans, rape seed, sugar can, food scraps and rice. It is available countrywide in Brazil and a lot cheaper than petrol. In Brazil, 77.9% of all new car sales last year were Flex-fuel cars – a total of 1 430 037.
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