April 4th, 2025

California motorists in 2024 nearly set another record for E85 use, based on data from the
California Air Resources Board. Last year’s total of 114.7 million E85 gallons trails only the
118.5 million gallons fueled up in 2023.

E85 is a renewable, biomass-based fuel for use in flex fuel vehicles (FFVs).

Pearson Fuels, the state’s largest E85 distributor, expected cheaper gasoline in 2024 would weigh on E85 sales numbers. Average gasoline prices last year were 24 cents per gallon below the previous year’s average and 76 cents per gallon lower than in 2022.

“We know drivers make it a priority to seek out E85, especially when gas prices spike,” said
Doug Vind, managing member of Pearson Fuels. “For the most part, gas price spikes didn’t
happen last year.”

Sustained low gas prices are unlikely for 2025. California’s Division of Petroleum Market
Oversight noted a $0.42 per gallon price surge earlier this year after a refinery fire in Northern
California.

“More supply shocks are a certainty here,” Vind said. “We believe the state should not only be
educating FFV drivers to look for E85 fueling stations as a way to save money throughout the
year, but it should also expedite approval of aftermarket E85 conversion kits that would allow
more consumers to insulate themselves from future price surges at the pump.”

Pearson Fuels distributes E85 to more than 430 retail stations throughout California. E85 in the
Pearson Fuels station network is typically $1.50-$2.00 per gallon cheaper than unleaded
gasoline.

This chart shows annual E85 volumes in California based on reported data to
the California Air Resources Board.