General Motors sees E85 as among best near - term energy, environmental solutions
Date: 9-06-08
Bangkok – “E85 can provide the quickest, least expensive and most practical solutions to rising energy costs and environmental concerns,” said Steve Carlisle, General Motors Southeast Asia Operations and Chevrolet Sales (Thailand).
GM, along with other automakers, is advocating using a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and gasoline (E85) as a cleaner, more reliable, lower greenhouse gas option. Ethanol is also a significantly less expensive source of energy that can help grow Thailand’s economy while providing new jobs, improving the environment and addresses national security concerns.
Currently, Thailand imports 87 percent of its petroleum. Of that, 80 percent is used in the transportation sector.
In 2001, Thailand began its renewable fuels journey by requiring 10 percent of ethanol blended into its gasoline. “GM would like to see an accelerated transition to E85 vehicles. E85 technology is readily available and vehicles could be on Thailand’s roads quite quickly, Carlisle said. In fact, we would like to see them introduced within the next two to four years. GM produces more than 400,000 E85 vehicles a year and there are already 2 million GM E85 vehicles on the road around the world.
“Thailand has a head start on its infrastructure development. Now we need to keep up the momentum to continue this important work,” Carlisle said. “In order to bring E85 to the market, it will take a partnership among industry, government and consumers. Together, we can reduce Thailand’s dependency on fossil fuels and oil imports. In addition, government support for research is imperative and incentives should be considered as a way to promote and encourage adoption of advanced technology and new fuels”.
In Thailand, Chevrolet has implemented a number of near-term solutions such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) versions of the Optra sedan and the Colorado pickup truck. Other solutions such as E20 are planned for introduction at the end of the year and E85 would follow soon after if the right conditions exist.
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9 June 2008
For further information, please contact:
General Motors (Thailand) Ltd. and Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) Ltd.
Tel: 0-2791-3400 Fax: 0-2937-0441
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