Minnesota Gasoline Sales Down, E85 Sales Up

The American Lung Association of Minnesota issued a press release saying that gasoline sales were down in July while E85 sales were up compared to the same period last year.

In an interesting snapshot of Minnesotans' changing driving habits, retail sales of gasoline in July 2008 showed a ten percent decline compared to sales in July 2007. According to figures for the Minnesota Department of Commerce, motorists bought 211,982,582 gallons of gasoline in July, compared to 233,081,981 gallons last July. As gasoline sales declined, the amount of ethanol-based E85 sold during the same period increased by 16 percent. To-date, E85 sales are approximately 16% greater in 2008 than they were at this time last year. Monthly sales of cleaner-burning E85 are averaging roughly 2 - 2.5 million gallons a month. E85 is designed for flex fuel vehicles (FFVs) that can use either E85 or gasoline; there are an estimated 200,000 flex fuel vehicles in Minnesota.

Minnesota has long been a leader in ethanol use and has the most E85 refueling locations of any state in the country.