Hot on the heels of the Saab 9-5 BioPower is the Ford Focus Flexi-Fuel Vehicle (FFV).

Initially 40 Ford Focus FFVs were trialled by members of the Somerset Biofuel Project – including Somerset County Council, Wessex Grain, Avon and Somerset Police and Wessex Grain and Wessex Water. Somerset-grown wheat was used to produce the bioethanol; Wessex Grain is developing a new bioethanol production plant next to an existing grain storage site. The facility will be able to convert 340,000 tonnes of wheat into 131 million litres of ethanol a year at full capacity from 2007. In the meantime bioethanol powering the Focus FFVs will be supplied by Wessex Grain from crops grown locally and processed elsewhere. The fleets will be able to refuel at five new refuelling points near to where they are based.

Already other rural economies have expressed an interest in setting up a bioethanol infrastructure - using local crops such as sugar beet to produce the ethanol.

Paul Thomas, Ford of Britain Managing Director said: “As bioethanol becomes more available, more vehicle fleets - and eventually private buyers – will come to see the benefits of this renewable fuel.”

In Sweden, where 80 per cent of the Focus models sold are FFVs, bioethanol is more than 40 per cent cheaper than petrol. The Somerset project is based on the Swedes’ experience of establishing regional bioethanol distribution networks.

The 1.8-litre Focus FFV offers a 70 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to the same petrol-only model. This is achieved by factoring in the CO2 absorbed by the crop when grown prior to harvest for bioethanol production. The car can run on either E85 bioethanol (blend of 85 per cent ethanol/15 per cent petrol) or petrol in the same fuel tank in any mix.