Project would target corporate fleets, with environmental appeal and tax reduction through the Sustainable Car Program, from Mover
Volkswagen, according to Automotive Business, is already testing a unit of the Saveiro compact pickup adapted to run only on ethanol, signaling interest in entering the niche of vehicles powered exclusively by biofuel after the debut of the Chevrolet Onix Eco.
For now, the adaptation boils down to a calibration of the flex system so that the injection recognizes and burns only alcohol, without mechanical changes. Cars powered exclusively by alcohol were common in the country in the 1980s and 1990s, but lost ground to flex-fuel engines, launched in 2003.
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Today, Volkswagen’s entire passenger line in Brazil is flex, capable of running on gasoline, ethanol or any mixture between the two — hence the option to start from a simple recalibration. The current solution, however, is not ideal, according to a source linked to the automaker. To make a more efficient commercial model viable, Volkswagen would need to develop a specific engine, with modifications to the pistons and cylinder head that allow for a higher compression ratio. It is the greatest compression that allows extracting more power and thermal efficiency from ethanol, with a higher octane rating than gasoline.
Before that, the sales area still needs to complete an economic feasibility study for the project to enter the company’s official line in the region. If it advances, the technology should be embedded in a utility model, aimed at corporate fleets, for two reasons.
One of them is the ESG appeal: ethanol burning is cleaner than gasoline, which helps companies reduce emissions from their fleets. In addition, there is the tax benefit: the ethanol engine makes it possible to enter the Sustainable Car Program, a modality of the federal Mover program that reduces taxes for the most efficient and least polluting vehicles.
Volkswagen is not alone in this movement. General Motors took the lead and launched an ethanol version of the Chevrolet Onix, while Stellantis claims to have a project ready, but still kept in the drawer.
