CAR MAKERS are turning up the heat on government and industry to provide more backing for its attempts to go green. And while no one was saying so directly, there was a clear undercurrent of dissatisfaction over the lack of government support for environmentally friendly cars among motor industry chiefs gathered in London for the British International Motor Show. Following the withdrawal of the government-backed Powershift grants which provided a cash-back incentive for buyers of low emission cars, the industry is beginning to see red over the government's failure to join it in the green corner. And hard on the heels of their announcement of a billion pound investment in clean technologies, Ford executives were dropping the biggest hints at the show where they unveiled new bio-fuel versions of the Focus. In a bid to boost the market, Britain's market-leading car company is cutting prices of its bio-fuelled production models to the same level as equivalent petrol versions and has also announced insurance discounts of 15 per cent for buyers. In addition it was revealed that the cost of the bio-ethanol fuel itself was being cut by 2p a gallon by Morrisons which is partnering Ford in making the fuel available on its forecourts. The bio-ethanol fuel sold here is called E85 and can be made from UK-grown crops such as wheat or sugar beet. At present it's available at only ten of Morrison's stores in Norfolk and Somerset, but the retailer will ultimately roll the fuel out to forecourts in other areas. Bio-ethanol is relatively new to Britain having being introduced by Ford in a trial programme in the West Country a year ago. But it's well established in other European countries, especially in Sweden where 40 per cent of all Ford vehicle sales are of what the company calls Flexible Fuel Vehicles - FFVs - which can run on either bio-ethanol, petrol or a blend of the two. Ford FFVs are now also available in Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, France, Norway and Spain. More countries will follow shortly, says Ford. Swedish maker Saab is also heavily into the development of bio-fuel and, with the relatively low costs of converting engines to run on the fuel, others are sure to follow. Ford says that independent tests have shown that its 1.8-litre FFV engine produces less harmful greenhouse gases than hybrid cars which use a combination of conventional petrol engines and electric motors. And it believes that more needs to be done by national and local government and by industry to help get the greener technology off the ground. Roelant de Waard, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, says: "Both Ford as vehicle manufacturer, and Morrisons as bio-ethanol retailer, have invested in the expansion of this new green technology. Now the Government needs to join us and make flexible fuel motoring an even more attractive option for UK customers." And he believes that given their low emissions, bio-ethanol cars should be eligible for congestion charge discounts when driving into Central London. He was backed up by John Fleming, Ford's European chief, who declared: "Government assistance is a key element for the successful introduction of a bio-fuel and flexi-fuel vehicle programme into any country. Tax incentives, like those in Sweden, Germany and Norway, drive the initial growth of a bio-ethanol fuel infrastructure." Ford's European vice-president, Lewis Booth, meanwhile, wants to see others in the automotive service industry do more to get behind green initiatives. Speaking at a conference during the motor show's international business day, he called for more co-operation from all stakeholders in meeting the challenge of climate change. "As an industry we continue to make improvements to our cars and our manufacturing processes," he said. "However, there is a considerable way to go before others, like the oil industry, accept its part in the integrated approach." Ford launched a new FFV version of the Focus C-Max compact people carrier at the London show and also revealed a concept version of the new Focus coupe cabriolet with a bio-fuel engine. The concept had been produced, said the company, to demonstrate "that style need not be sacrificed for cleaner, green motoring". | 
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