Car makers prudent about bio-fuels

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/14/2006 8:57 AM  |  Jakarta

Automotive manufacturers have praised the government's promotion of bio-ethanol fuels, but have asked for more time to explore the effects before making any technical modifications.

During last week's bio-premium road show, car maker representatives said that many existing cars were only capable of using gasoline with five percent ethanol, known as E5.

""Technically speaking, Toyota's cars are ready to use E5. However, we can't tell how small the impact will be until we do a lengthy study. We have to do so for the sake of our customers,"" said Toyota Astra assistant manager Anton Jimmi.

He said the decision to carry out a thorough analysis before modifying any machines had been made by Toyota management.

State oil and gas company Pertamina produces 10 percent and 15 percent ethanol gasoline blends as well as E5.

Anton said Pertamina had performed tests on the use of E5, E10 and E15 on Toyota's Kijang before launching its bio-premium fuel in Surabaya in August.

He added that Toyota's Vios and Camry vehicles had been run in Thailand on ethanol fuel without any modifications being made.

Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol, is a flammable, colorless chemical compound often found in alcoholic beverages.

E5, or 5 percent bio-premium, is a blend of 95 percent premium gasoline and 5 percent ethanol. The higher the percentage of ethanol, the better the emissions rating of the fuel.

Bambang Priandoyo, public affairs manager at Ford Motor Indonesia, said that even before the Indonesian government had decided to develop alternative fuels, Ford had been producing fuel-flexible vehicles.

""In Indonesia, we have the Ford Ranger and Everest, which can apply E5 without modification, while the Ford Focus, imported from the Philippines, is capable of running on up to 20 percent ethanol,"" he told The Jakarta Post during the road show.

Meanwhile, motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha Motor Indonesia was still verifying the specifications of the bio-ethanol produced by Pertamina before modifying its machines.

""The specifications of bio-ethanols are different in each country. We still need a long time to investigate what is the best specification in Indonesia. It is impossible to modify our products right now,"" company spokesman Mansyur said. ""For vehicles that have already been released in the market, the effect of the ethanol must also be verified.""

He said that the company had conducted research in Thailand and Brazil on the use of bio-ethanol, also known as gasohol.

""We learned that the temperature in Indonesia is the more stable of the two countries while the rain volume is highest in Jakarta. These two factors also influence the use of bio-ethanol,"" he said.

The motor manufacturers called on the government to ensure a steady supply of bio-premium to encourage the public to switch to the environmentally friendly fuel.

""The government can play an important role in the program by providing incentives to stakeholders from farmers, producers of bio-fuels, automakers to consumers. It must be run simultaneously,"" said Bambang.

""No one would produce alternative fuels if there was no market for them and no one would sell them if there was no demand,"" he said.

They said that the government needed to look at the experiences of countries which used bio-ethanol as alternative energy, such as Italy, Sweden and Thailand.

""In Sweden, for example, the E85 car buyers get free parking in urban centers and a 20 percent discount on car insurance,"" he said.

Thailand started blending 10 percent ethanol in 1985; now there are more than 4,000 stations selling E10. (Adianto P. Simamora)

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