Today it is exactly one year ago that motorists were able to fill up with fuels under the new names E5 and E10. We are now a year on and we can conclude that the 'economical' Dutchman has started to refuel more with the more expensive E5 fuel. This is evident from an analysis by MultiTankcard, the largest provider of business mobility cards in the Netherlands. E10 is petrol to which a maximum of 10% bioethanol has been added. The E stands for ethanol, the number for the percentage. The fuel was introduced to limit CO2 emissions. Moreover, ethanol is a renewable fuel. E10 is also called Euro95 / E10 at the pump, but contains twice as much ethanol as the 'old' Euro95. A maximum of 5% bioethanol has been added to E98, previously known as Euro5.

Strong sales increase E5

Since the introduction of the E5 label, sales of this more expensive fuel have risen sharply. The increase in sales volume between September and October 2019 was 17%. This is most likely related to the introduction of the new labels on October 1, 2019. Sales of E10 increased by only 2019% between September and October 6. Until the corona crisis in March, sales of E10 remained fairly constant, but not for E5. Between August 2019 and August 2020, the sales volume of E5 increased by no less than 20%. Over the same period, sales of E10 decreased slightly, by 5%. Not only has the volume of fuel sold increased, it is also striking that E5 is getting more customers. The figures show that the number of drivers refueling E5 is increasing more than the number of liters and transactions. This indicates that these E5 tankers refuel less often on average. The E10 drivers refuel more often and usually drive more kilometers.

Concerns about E10 

As is known, not all cars are suitable for refueling E10. About a tenth of the Dutch fleet has to refuel E5. Why do more people refuel than E5? The popularity of E5 is partly due to concerns about E10, certainly in the first months after the introduction of the new labels. Motorists wondered whether their car could withstand the influence that ethanol would have on the engine. As a precaution, E5 was refueled. Patrick Roozeman, director of MultiTank Card: "Experts argue that most concerns about E10 are unfounded." Most petrol cars can refuel perfectly with E10 and that is still the most sold petrol, but given the increase in the number of E5 customers, not all motorists are convinced of this. 

That would suit the 'frugal' Dutchman, because E5 is more expensive. Roozeman: 'On average, the price of a liter of E5 is about 10% higher than that of a liter of E10. On the other hand, the more expensive fuel is slightly more economical, but that difference is marginal and depends on the type of car. That economy does not make up for the higher price. In addition, E5 is not widely available. E10 is more widely available; if a pump has several nozzles, the filling station is obliged to offer at least E10 '.

Photo above: Van Houten PR & Communication / Multitankcard.

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