General Motors and E85 Ethanol
Fact Sheet
Vehicle Strategy
- Producing E85 ethanol flex fuel vehicles is one part of GM’s strategy to help displace petroleum use and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy also includes improving the efficiency of the traditional internal combustion engine with technologies available today; and developing electrically-driven vehicles such as hybrids, plug-in hybrids, extended range electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.
- Promoting the use of E85 ethanol helps support GM’s efforts to create greater diversity in propulsion technologies and energy sources.
- For the 2008 model year, GM offers the following FlexFuel vehicles:
Chevrolet Tahoe 5.3L V-8 GMC Yukon 5.3L V-8
Chevrolet Suburban 5.3LV-8 GMC Yukon XL 5.3L V-8
Chevrolet Avalanche 5.3L V-8 GMC Sierra 5.3L V-8
Chevrolet Silverado 5.3L V-8 GMC Savana 5.3L V-8
Chevrolet Impala 3.5L V-6
Chevrolet Express 5.3L V-8
Chevrolet Uplander 3.9L V-6
Leadership
- GM has more than 2.5 million E85 FlexFuel vehicles on the road in all 50 states, more than any other manufacturer. E85 vehicles from all manufacturers total more than 6 million in North America.
- For the 2008 model year, GM offers 11 E85 vehicle models, with an annual production of more than 400,000 vehicles. GM’s production commitment exceeds any other manufacturer’s.
E85 Facts
- Using E85 ethanol helps to reduce vehicle emissions of greenhouse gases.
- Using E85 ethanol helps to reduce dependence on petroleum, and helps create greater diversity in our nation’s energy supplies and sources.
- Ethanol, the major component of E85, is a renewable fuel.
- Using E85 ethanol can help improve vehicle performance because E85 ethanol has a higher octane rating than gasoline which allows for more horsepower and torque.
- Using E85 ethanol can help to support the domestic agriculture industry.
Consumer Education
- GM is committed to educating consumers about the fueling options they have as FlexFuel vehicle owners. New Chevrolet and GMC E85 Flex Fuel cars and trucks come equipped with a yellow fuel cap and badging, indicating the consumer has a choice of either gasoline or E85 ethanol.
- GM is committed to increasing consumer awareness and knowledge around its FlexFuel vehicles and E85 ethanol. To help do this, GM launched the integrated “Live Green, Go Yellow,” advertising and marketing campaign in 2006. It included:
- National print, broadcast and Internet advertising and outreach
- Equipping all new E85 Flex Fuel vehicles with yellow fuel caps
- Partnering with government, fuel providers and industry to increase the availability of E85 ethanol
- Since then, GM has continued the education campaign with local advertising and marketing efforts on the Chevrolet and GMC web sites. Beginning on Earth Day (April 22), GM also re-launched television advertising focused on key markets that have a significant E85 ethanol presence. These ads will run through the end of the year.
- GM has created a classroom curriculum on E85 ethanol for grades 5-8 to help educate students on alternative fuels and the benefits of E85 ethanol.
Availability of E85 Ethanol
- According to the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, there are more than 1,300 E85 ethanol fueling stations in the United States. This number has grown significantly in recent years.
- GM is partnering with government, fuel providers and fuel retailers across the nation to help grow the E85 ethanol fueling station infrastructure.
- Since May of 2005, GM has announced partnerships in 14 states and the District of Columbia (South Dakota, California, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Virginia, Colorado and Iowa) to locate 271 new E85 fueling pumps at stations around the country.
- GM, along with Ford and Chrysler has pledged its support for a U.S. “25 x 25” initiative, which is an effort to get 25 percent of the nation’s transportation energy needs met by domestically-produced renewable fuels by 2025.
- In 2006, GM, along with Chrysler and Ford, announced that America’s three domestic car companies will double production of vehicles running on renewable fuels by 2010, based on 2006 volumes. That’s more than 2 million E85 and biodiesel-capable vehicles a year by the end of this decade – the single largest commitment to renewable fuels in U.S.history.
- In a meeting with President Bush in 2006, GM and its domestic colleagues announced that America’s domestic auto companies were prepared to make fully half of their annual vehicle production bio-capable in 2012, provided there is ample availability and distribution of E85 ethanol, as part of an overall national energy strategy.
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