See when it pays to fill up the car with gasoline or alcohol

Although the mega-increase in fuels applied by Petrobras last Friday (11) is valid only for gasoline, diesel and cooking gas, the Brazilian driver also saw the price of alcohol (hydrated ethanol) rise. Anyone who wants to save needs to do a calculation to know which fuel is more worth it.

According to the fleet management company Ticket Log, which monitors prices at around 21,000 service stations, alcohol had been getting cheaper in recent months, but it started to rise again after Petrobras readjusted on Friday.

The national average price of ethanol went from R$ 5.56 in the first ten days of the month and rose to R$ 5.706 between the 11th and 15th (an increase of 2.6%). In the same comparison, gasoline rose 8.1% – from R$6,939 to R$7,499.

Is it worth fueling up with alcohol?

To find out if it pays to switch from gasoline to alcohol, it is necessary to make a calculation that takes into account the performance of each fuel. The consumer must divide the value of a liter of ethanol by the value of a liter of gasoline. If it gives up to 0.70, alcohol compensates more.

This is because, according to engineer Gabriel Branco, an engine specialist, a vehicle fueled with ethanol yields, on average, 30% less than if it was running on gasoline. Therefore, to be worth it, the liter of ethanol must cost up to 70% of the liter of gasoline.

With the most recent national average calculated by Ticket Log, the result of the calculation is 0.76. That is, gasoline is proportionately more advantageous in most parts of the country. But alcohol is usually cheaper in Southeast and Midwest states, where ethanol production is higher.

The calculation of the yield of alcohol in relation to gasoline is also an approximation. The base value (70%) can be higher or lower, depending on engine performance. It is necessary for the driver himself to monitor the expense and decide which is the best fuel in his case.

According to Gabriel Branco, the best way to verify this relationship for each vehicle is through the PBEV (Brazilian Vehicle Labeling Program) label. This is a seal verified by Inmetro (National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology) and provides details on the performance of flex-fuel models, with alcohol and gasoline, in the city and on the road.

For example: in the evaluation of Inmetro, a Chevrolet Onyx 1.0 engine, year 2021, yields 8.8 kilometers per liter with alcohol in the city, and 12.8 km / l with gasoline. The efficiency calculation shows that, for this engine, ethanol yields 69% of gasoline.

Inmetro reported that there is no standardization for the dissemination of this seal in vehicles. Sources involved in the certification process said automakers that produce low-cost cars are reluctant to publicize the data to consumers.

The performance evaluation tables made by Inmetro can be consulted at this link, by year of manufacture and vehicle category.

Why did alcohol go up along with gasoline?

The mega-increase announced by Petrobras in fuels was against the backdrop of the soaring barrel of oil after the war in Ukraine. In addition, as Petrobras adopts a policy of parity with the international price, the devaluation of the real accumulated in recent years puts pressure on readjustments in Brazil.

According to Unica (Union of the Sugarcane Industry), the increase in gasoline brought a greater demand for alcohol as an alternative. “Even with sufficient stocks to meet demand, there is a self-regulation of the market, resulting in an increase in the amount paid to producers”, said the entity, in a note.

Unica also claims that the sugarcane off-season, which runs from December to March, reduces the supply of alcohol, which also puts pressure on prices. “The supply of ethanol is expected to increase from April onwards, when plants in the Center-South begin to process the 2022/2023 crop.”

Rodrigo Zingales, executive director of AbriLivre, an association that represents fuel resellers throughout Brazil, says that the off-season and higher demand for ethanol only partially explain the price increase.

According to Zingales, the national fuel market has a lot of power concentrated in a few distributors, which exert great influence on the level of production and on the price of alcohol. The director of AbriLivre says that the reduced competitiveness in the distribution sector is a barrier for ethanol to reach the final consumer cheaper.

The report sought Sindicom, a union that brings together the largest fuel distributors in the country, but did not receive a response until the publication of this text.