Saab has launched a revised version of its flagship 9-5 model that can run on E85 - a cheap carbon-neutral fuel made of 85 per cent bioethanol and 15 per cent unleaded petrol - which is now sold at nine Maxol filling stations.
The BioPower Saab is the first premium car on the Irish market to run on E85 and joins the Ford Focus Flexifuel as Ireland's latest environmentally friendly car. Like the Ford, the Saab can run on either E85 or unleaded petrol or any mixture of the two.
Also like the Ford, the 2.0-litre turbo-charged 9-5 benefits from a 50 per cent Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) rebate. This brings the base model's price to under €40,000, which represents a saving of over €6,000 on the standard petrol-fuelled model.
Saab, which is famous for its turbo-charged engines, is also keen to point out that not only will customers benefit from a substantial saving in the showroom, but will also have a more powerful car.
Because E85, which is produced by the Irish dairy company, Carbery, from a by-product of milk whey, has a higher-octane level than petrol, Saab is able to increase the power output of the car's 2.0-litre engine from 150 to 180bhp and increase its torque from 240 to 280Nm. As Doug McCoy, Saab general manager in Ireland, said: "Motorists can now go green while still retaining the sporty performance of the 9-5."
Little surprise that in Saab's home market of Sweden, sales of the 9-5 BioPower now account for 85 per cent of all sales of the model there. E85 is heralded by some vehicle manufacturers as the green way forward as it offers more power than petrol from a fuel that is carbon neutral, i.e., the CO2 produced when it is burnt is the same as the CO2 that was removed from the atmosphere while the crops used to produce the bioethanol were growing.
In addition, unlike hybrid cars that require additional motors and batteries as well as a petrol engine, cars that run on E85 require few modifications and no new technology.
The introduction of more E85-compatible cars will happen over the next few years as European countries strive to meet the EU's directive requiring them to have bioethanol make up at least 5.75 per cent of all road transport fuels in just four years' time.
This, as Pearse Buckley of Sustainable Ireland explains, has led to Maxol to commit to supplying 163 million litres of the locally produced fuel by 2008.
"Bioethanol is an important player if we are to meet our 2010 target," he said. "E85 is important as it opens up our ability to bring more bioethanol to market."
Currently, E85 retails for around 30c per litre less than standard unleaded petrol.
Next year, Saab is expected to launch a more powerful 2.3-litre version of the 9-5 that can also run on E85. The Swedish manufacturer has also indicated that it will introduce an E85 version of its smaller 9-3 model, although it has yet to confirm a launch date.
Further into the future, it says it will launch a car that can run on 100 per cent bioethanol - E100 - a move that will help achieve the Swedish government's aim of ending its country's dependency on fossil fuels in just 14 years.
While commending the Irish Government on its move to make E85 and the cars that can run on it more affordable by reducing VRT, the director of Maxol Biofuels, Gerard Black, called on the Minister for Finance to do more in the coming budget.
"The Irish Government has introduced some incentives, but they do not go far enough," he said.
E85 is currently available in nine Maxol stations in Dublin, Drogheda, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Navan and Wexford.