page_title: Ethanol fuel in the United States
section_title: E85 vehicles
hierarchical_section_title: Ethanol fuel in the United States / Recent trends / E85 vehicles
caption_attribution_description: English: E85 fuel pump for sale at a regular gasoline station in Washington, D.C.
context_page_description: The United States became the world's largest producer of ethanol fuel in 2005. The U.S. produced 13.9 billion U.S. liquid gallons of ethanol fuel in 2011, an increase from 13.2 billion U.S. liquid gallons in 2010, and up
  from 1.63 billion gallons in 2000. Brazil and U.S. production accounted for 87.1% of global production in 2011. In the U.S, ethanol fuel is mainly used as an oxygenate in gasoline in the form of low-level blends up to 10 percent, and to an increasing extent, as E85 fuel for flex-fuel vehicles.
  The ethanol market share in the U.S. gasoline supply grew by volume from just over 1 percent in 2000 to more than 3 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2011. Domestic production capacity increased fifteen times after 1990, from 900 million US gallons to 1.63 billion US gal in 2000, to 13.5 billion US gallons in 2010. The Renewable Fuels Association reported 209 ethanol distilleries in operation located in 29 states in 2011, and 140 under construction or expansion as of December 2011, that upon completion, would bring U.S. total installed capacity to 15.0 billion US gallons. Most expansion projects are aimed to update the refinery's technology to improve ethanol production,
context_section_description: Ford, Chrysler, and GM are among many automobile companies that sell flexible-fuel vehicles that can run blends ranging from pure gasoline to 85% ethanol (E85), and beginning in 2008 almost any type of automobile and light duty vehicle was available with the flex-fuel option, including sedans, vans, SUVs and pickup trucks. By early 2013, about 11 million E85 flex-fuel cars and light trucks were in operation, though actual use of E85 fuel was limited, because the ethanol fueling infrastructure was limited.
  As of 2005, 68% of American flex-fuel car owners were not aware they owned an E85 flex. Flex and non-flex vehicles looked the same. There was no price difference. American automakers did not label these vehicles. In contrast, all Brazilian automakers clearly labeled FFVs with text that was some variant of the word Flex. Beginning in 2007 many new FFV models in the US featured a yellow gas cap to remind drivers of the E85 capabilities. As of 2008, GM badged its vehicles with the text "Flexfuel/E85 Ethanol". Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimated that in 2009 only 504,297 flex-fuel vehicles were regularly fueled with E85, and these were primarily fleet-operated vehicles. As a result, only 712 million gallons were used for E85, representing just 1% of that year's ethanol consumption.
  During the decade following 2000, E85 vehicles became increasingly common in the Midwest, where corn was a major crop.
  Fueling infrastructure has been a major restriction hampering E85 sales.  As of March 2013, there were 3,028 fueling stations selling E85 in the U.S. Most stations were in the Corn Belt states. As of 2008 the leading state was Minnesota with 353 stations, followed by Illinois with 181, and Wisconsin with 114. About another 200 stations that dispensed ethanol were restricted to city, state and federal government vehicles.
caption: E85 fuel dispenser at a regular gasoline station, Washington, D.C..
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