E10 fuel UK: It cuts carbon emissions but is this new eco-fuel compatible with your car?

Everything you need to know about the new E10 fuel - and what it means for you and your motor 
Hundreds of thousands of cars could be incompatible with E10 biofuel
PA
Georgia Chambers29 August 2018

Popular family cars could soon be incompatible with a new fuel being rolled out across the UK in a government bid to crack down on carbon emissions.

E10 fuel can be used to run most modern cars but it's feared that older cars, such as models from the likes of Nissan, Ford and Volkswagen, will not be able to use the biofuel.

E10 fuel, being dubbed as the "environmentally friendly" alternative to unleaded and diesel, is already being sold in Germany, Finland and France.

Here's everything you need to know about E10 fuel and how it could affect your vehicle:

What is E10 fuel?

E10 fuel is a biofuel made up of 90% regular unleaded petrol and 10% ethanol.

It's produced from the fermentation of plants such as sugar cane, wheat, corn, sorghum and barley.

Unlike regular unleaded petrol, ethanol absorbs carbon dioxide, so is therefore thought to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

What are the pros and cons of E10 fuel?

Unsurprisingly, the main benefit of E10 fuel is that it's supposedly more environmentally friendly as it uses renewable energy sources.

According to environmental agency ePURE, displacing 10% of Europe's petrol with ethanol through E10 fuel would reduce greenhouse gas emissions from petrol by 6%.

However, because E10 is produced from plants, there are concerns over deforestation, which risks creating further CO2 complications.

Critics have also argued that E10 may be less efficient than the current E5 grade fuel, which would mean drivers having to fill up their tanks more often.

Why is the government proposing E10 as an alternative fuel?

Pressure is building on the government to meet targets that call for 10% of transport energy to come from renewable energy sources by 2020.

At the moment, fuel regulations mean that ethanol could be anything up to 5% of the fuel you buy. But to meet these new government targets, suppliers would have to double the ethanol in their fuel content to 10% - meaning fuel will become more expensive.

The government has recently launched a consultation to review whether and how it should introduce E10 fuel to the UK market.

Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: "This government is ambitiously seeking to reduce the UK’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions from transport. But drivers of older vehicles should not be hit hard in the pocket as a result."

Drivers could face sky-rocketing fuel prices as a result of the E10 rollout
PA

Which cars will be affected?

According to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), around 92.2% of vehicles will already be compatible with E10 fuel, but 7.8% of motors - about 1.5 million - will be at risk.

As of 2011, all new cars sold in the UK must be E10 compatible. As a general rule, however, drivers of cars registered prior to 2002 are advised not to use E10 in their vehicle as problems including damage to car parts have been reported.

Analysis by motoring research charity the RAC Foundation unveiled the 10 most E10 incompatible cars:

  • Volkswagen Gold (28,066)
  • MG MGB (20,890)
  • Mazda MX-5 (18,162)
  • Nissan Micra (15,785)
  • Morris Minor (12,796)
  • Rover 25 (9,879)
  • MG MGF (9,352)
  • Ford Escort (8,947)
  • Rover Mini (7,614)
  • MG TF (7,568)

The full list of E10 compatible cars can be found on the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) website.

What happens if my car is incompatible with E10?

The good news is that retailers selling three million litres or more must offer E10 unleaded and E5 super-unleaded until 2017.

But smaller retailers may be forced into choosing to stock one or the other, causing potential havoc for drivers of the minority of cars which aren't E10 compatible.

The Department for Transport is calling for the introduction of a requirement for larger pump stations to continue to stock standard petrol in an E5 grade if they decide to add an E10 option, as a way to accommodate drivers of E10 incompatible vehicles.

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