Big Three to Make More Biofuel Cars

The Big Three U.S. automakers said Wednesday that they would double production of flexible-fuel vehicles by 2010, adding cars and trucks capable of running on ethanol blends and other biofuels to reduce dependence upon foreign oil.

Leaders of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group wrote members of Congress about their plans, urging oil companies and lawmakers to promote the production of ethanol and biofuels and increase the number of service stations that offer the fuels.

“Our hope is that with this commitment, fuel providers will have even more incentive to produce ethanol and other biofuels and install pumps to distribute them,” the automakers wrote.

The letter was signed by GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner, Ford Chairman and CEO Bill Ford and Chrysler Group President and CEO Tom LaSorda.

The Big Three automakers have produced 5 million flexible-fuel vehicles, capable of running on gasoline and fuel blends of up to 85% ethanol, and are expected to produce 1 million more this year. Their commitment would lead to 2 million annually by 2010.

In meetings on Capitol Hill last month, Wagoner, Ford and LaSorda stressed their work on alternative fuels but highlighted the lack of service stations offering the fuels. Only about 700 of the 170,000 gasoline stations nationwide offer E85, a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

GM and Ford said they could not provide specifics of how they would increase production of the vehicles, which typically cost a few hundred dollars more to produce. Chrysler said it would produce 500,000 of the vehicles by 2008.