Editing Volkswagen (section)

====Flexible-fuel vehicles====
[[File:Brazilian 2003 VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex.jpg|thumb|right|Volkswagen Gol Total Flex]]

The 2003 [[Volkswagen Gol|VW Gol 1.6 Total Flex]] was the first full flexible-fuel vehicle launched in Brazil, capable of running on any blend of petrol and [[Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E100|E100]]. In March of that year, on its fiftieth anniversary, [[Volkswagen do Brasil]] launched in the local market the [[Volkswagen Gol|Gol]] 1.6 Total Flex, the first Brazilian commercial [[flexible fuel vehicle]] capable of running on any mix of [[E20 fuel|E20-E25]] petrol and up to 100% [[hydrous]] ethanol fuel ([[Common ethanol fuel mixtures#E100|E100]]).<ref name="SusEthanol">{{Cite book|author1=Goettemoeller, Jeffrey |author2=Adrian Goettemoeller | title = Sustainable Ethanol: Biofuels, Biorefineries, Cellulosic Biomass, Flex-Fuel Vehicles, and Sustainable Farming for Energy Independence | year = 2007| publisher=Prairie Oak Publishing, Maryville, Missouri |pages=56–61 | isbn=978-0-9786293-0-4}}</ref><ref name="autonews.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/REUTERS/60323043/1111 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213023830/http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060323%2FREUTERS%2F60323043%2F1111 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |title=Volkswagen to stop making gas-only cars for Brazil |newspaper=Automotive News |date=23 March 2006 |access-date=18 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vwbr.com.br/VWBrasil/Historia/A-nova-Volkswagen.aspx |title=A Nova Volkswagen |publisher=Volkswagen do Brasil |access-date=18 October 2008 |language=pt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915184129/http://www.vwbr.com.br/VWBrasil/Historia/A-nova-Volkswagen.aspx <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=15 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parana-online.com.br/canal/automoveis/news/170341/ |title=Volkswagen lança Golf Total Flex 1.6 |publisher=ParanaOnline |date=30 March 2006 |access-date=18 October 2008 |language=pt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522121038/http://www.parana-online.com.br/canal/automoveis/news/170341/ |archive-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the pure ethanol fiasco, consumer confidence in ethanol-powered vehicles was restored, allowing the rapid adoption of the flex technology. This was facilitated by the fuel distribution infrastructure already in place throughout Brazil, with more than 30 thousand fueling stations, a heritage of the ''Pró-Álcool'' program<ref name="BRgas08">{{cite web|url=http://www.gazeta.com.br/GZM_News.aspx?Parms=2108086,604,1 |title=Margem estreita não intimida pequenas |publisher=Gazeta Mercantil |author=Roberta Scrivano |date=7 October 2008 |access-date=26 November 2008 |language=pt }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Owing to the success and rapid consumer acceptance of the flex-fuel versions, by 2005 VW had sold 293,523 flex-fuel cars and light-duty trucks, and only 53,074 petrol-only automobiles,<ref name="ANFAVEA05">{{cite web|url=http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2005/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|title=Tabela 08 – Vendas Atacado Mercado Interno por Tipo e Empresa – Combustível Flex Fuel – 2005|publisher=ANFAVEA – Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Brazil)|access-date=16 April 2009|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120082957/http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2005/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|archive-date=20 November 2008}} ''See Table 08 for flex-fuel sales and Table 07 for gasoline sales''.</ref> jumping to 525,838 flex-fuel vehicles and only 13,572 petrol-only cars and 248 petrol-only light trucks in 2007,<ref name="ANFAVEA07">{{cite web|url=http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2007/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|title=Tabela 08 – Vendas Atacado Mercado Interno por Tipo e Empresa – Combustível Flex Fuel – 2007|publisher=ANFAVEA – Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Brazil)|access-date=16 April 2009|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120041043/http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2007/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|archive-date=20 November 2008}} ''See Table 08 for flex-fuel sales and Table 07 for gasoline sales''.</ref> and reaching new car sales of 564,959 flex-fuel vehicles in 2008, representing 96% of all new cars and light-duty trucks sold in that year.<ref name="ANFAVEA08">{{cite web|url=http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2008/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|title=Tabela 08 – Vendas Atacado Mercado Interno por Tipo e Empresa – Combustível Flex Fuel – 2008|publisher=ANFAVEA – Associação Nacional dos Fabricantes de Veículos Automotores (Brazil)|access-date=16 April 2009|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706150754/http://www.anfavea.com.br/tabelas2008/autoveiculos/tabela08_vendas.pdf|archive-date=6 July 2011|url-status=live}} ''See Table 08''.</ref> VW do Brasil stopped manufacturing petrol-only vehicles models for the local market in 2006,<ref name="autonews.com" /> and all of the remaining petrol-only Volkswagen models sold in Brazil are imported. The flex-fuel models currently produced for the local market are the Gol, Fox, CrossFox, Parati, Polo Hatch, Polo Sedan, Saveiro, Golf, and Kombi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.norpave.com.br/site/index.php?modulo=detalhe_noticia&id=24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328224058/https://www.norpave.com.br/site/index.php?modulo=detalhe_noticia&id=24 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |title=VW completa 55 anos como maior montadora do País |publisher=Norpave VW |date=25 March 2008 |access-date=18 April 2009 |language=pt}}</ref> By March 2009, Volkswagen do Brasil had attained the milestone mark of two million flex-fuel vehicles produced since 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://autobrasil.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/vw-dois-milhoes-de-carros-flex/|title=VW: dois milhões de carros flex|publisher=Auto Brasil|date=25 March 2009|access-date=19 April 2009|language=pt|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329062920/http://autobrasil.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/vw-dois-milhoes-de-carros-flex/|archive-date=29 March 2009|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.noticiasautomotivas.com.br/volkswagen-atinge-2-milhoes-de-carros-flex-produzidos-no-brasil/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906165905/http://www.noticiasautomotivas.com.br/volkswagen-atinge-2-milhoes-de-carros-flex-produzidos-no-brasil/ |archive-date=6 September 2012 |title=Volkswagen atinge 2 milhões de carros Flex produzidos no Brasil |publisher=Noticias Automotivas |date=24 March 2009 |access-date=18 April 2009 |language=pt }}</ref>