Biofuel introduction a big step forward

Media Release
EMBARGOED 2.00 PM, WEDNESDAY 1 AUGUST 2007

Biofuel introduction a big step forward

The Motor Industry Association (MIA) said today that it thought that the introduction by Gull New Zealand on 1 August of an E10 blend (10% ethanol) 98 octane petrol is a big step forward.

“Gull is to be applauded for leading the fuel industry into the commercial availability of biofuel, and this will be of particular benefit to New Zealand motorists in both existing and new cars,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the MIA.

Kerr also said that he would like to see the Government come up with a regulatory framework to protect the consumer for those motorists where there may be potential issues with E10, for example used import Japanese vehicles.

“Ninety-five percent of all New Zealand new cars for sale today will run on E10 with no problem although many cars designed for use in the Japanese market (i.e. used imports) are not yet certified by their manufacturers for an ethanol content of greater than 3%. There could also be issues with some older cars, even though they were originally sold new in New Zealand.”

“Surely now is the time that the Government should be addressing the issue of the entry of imported used vehicles that can’t run on E10 blends – not only will this be better for the environment but there’ll be less chance of any confusion for motorists not knowing which blend is the right one for their car,” said Mr. Kerr.

“In anticipation of the introduction of ethanol blends and biodiesel, the MIA, in consultation with its members, proposed a second registration label for the windscreen which would clearly state the fuel compatibility of the particular car, whether it be a New-Zealand new vehicle or a used import,” said Mr. Kerr.

“This was rejected by Government officials, who instead wanted a complete list of E10 compliant and non-compliant vehicles. Given the transient nature of a large section of the unregulated local vehicle importing industry, this is an impossible task.”

“In its failure to take responsibility for ensuring that consumers are adequately protected regarding the use of E10 in their vehicles, the Government is effectively passing the buck to the oil companies,” said Mr. Kerr.

ENDS

Earlier release regarding new vehicle compatibility attached:

Media Release
EMBARGOED 11.59 PM THURSDAY 20TH APRIL 2006

New Vehicle Industry is right behind Biofuels

The new vehicle industry is playing a major role in the biofuels conference currently being hosted by EECA (Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority). “We’re totally in support of the advancement of renewable energy as a source of vehicle fuel,” said Perry Kerr, CEO of the Motor Industry Association, “and we’re working hard to help hasten the process in New Zealand.”

As part of this commitment, the MIA has brought a keynote speaker to the conference from Japan. Mr. Yasunori Takei is the chairman of the fuels sub-committee of JAMA (Japan Automotive Manufacturers Association), and he will be presenting JAMA’s papers on biofuel technology as it relates to not only a major vehicle market, but also the source country of most of the vehicles on New Zealand roads.

Individual members of the MIA are particularly proactive in terms of biofuels for vehicles sold new in New Zealand. “Currently 99% of new petrol-powered vehicles sold in this country are E5 (ethanol 5%) compatible, and 95% are E10 compatible,” said Mr. Kerr. “The problem however, is with the fact that the New Zealand fleet is dominated by used imports, which currently comprise 51.5% of vehicles on our roads, a figure which is expected to rise to 65%.”

This creates a huge problem for renewable fuel sources in New Zealand because biofuels have only been introduced very recently in the Japanese market, and because of the absence of proven fuel system hardware in older vehicles, the Japanese government only approves an ethanol blend of up to 3%. “As a result, we’re also stuck with a maximum of E3 for the foreseeable future, purely because of the fact that we continue importing so many old cars from Japan,” Mr. Kerr said.

Biodiesel has not yet been used commercially in the Japanese domestic market, although JAMA and the Japanese government are carrying out a testing programme. When results from this are available later this year, it may mean changes to the New Zealand standard for biodiesel, purely because of the increasing age of used Japanese diesel vehicles crossing New Zealand wharves.

“Until the results of these tests are know, we can’t comment whether or not biodiesel blend fuel is going to be suitable for the mixed New Zealand fleet of NZ-new and used imported diesel vehicles,” said Mr. Kerr.

The MIA is frustrated by the effect that a used import dominated local vehicle fleet is having on our ability to join the rest of the world in cleaning up vehicle emissions. “While used imports do address a shortage of used vehicles we should have rolling seven year age limit to minimise their adverse environmental impact” said Mr Kerr. “Biofuel technology is a central plank of our Kyoto commitment and we now find that we can’t introduce it because we continue to import outdated technology from Japan” concluded Mr Kerr

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