Auto makers divided over use of biofuel for motor vehicles

Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) members are divided over the use of biofuel for motor vehicles.

Toyota Motors Philippines Inc., which is supportive of biofuels, is, however, more focused on developing hybrid vehicles — those powered by a combination of electricity and gasoline.

Other CAMPI members, led by its current president Elizabeth Lee expressed apprehension on the use of biofuels.

Only Ford Motor Co. Philippines is fully embracing the use of alternative fuel.

In fact, Henry Co, president of Ford Philippines, highlighted the difference of opinion, arguing that developing engines that use alternative fuels such as ethanol is "the way to go."

Co said the use of ethanol in the Philippines is logical given the country’s active sugar industry which would provide the raw material for ethanol production.

Promoting the use of ethanol would not only help the local sugar industry but provide much needed employment and economic activity while saving thousands of dollars that would otherwise be used to purchase the increasingly expensive imported crude oil products, Co noted.

Co, in fact, is critical of hybrid cars which he warns could be as expensive as the Ford Expedition. A Ford Expedition costs as much as P2.9 million.

Toyota, however, has expressed its desire to launch the hybrid Prius in the Philippines as a possible answer to government’s call for an alternative vehicle not dependent on imported petroleum.

Toyota acknowledges the current high cost of a hybrid engine vehicle, but argues the benefits of the vehicle which is currently a hit in the United States.

Lee, for her part, had issued a statement urging that biofuel blends should only be an alternative to current 100 percent petroleum-based fuel and should not be mandatory.

Consumers, CAMPI said, "should be given the choice on the type of fuel they want to use in their vehicles taking into account its quality, cost and availability."

CAMPI made it clear that "the industry is not in a position to endorse any specific fuel type or brand of biofuel blends," adding that biofuel specifications "must conform with the Worldwide Fuel Charter (WWFC)."

The WWFC standard was developed by global automobile and engine manufacturers as the fuel standard for motor vehicles including those with blends of ethanol for gasoline and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) or vegetable-derived esters (VDE) for diesel.

At the very least, CAMPI said these bio-fuels must be accredited by the Department of Energy in accordance with the Philippine National Standard (PNS).

Currently, the WWFC provides that the allowable maximum blend by volume for ethanol on gasoline is at 10 percent, while that of FAME/VDE for diesel is at 5 percent.

The standards adopted by the WWFC are based on technical studies conducted by expert automotive engineers.

The blend levels selected are optimal given the objective of maximizing alternative fuel usage while minimizing vehicle emission and ensuring performance, durability and efficiency of current engine design and fuel systems.

In June 2004, CAMPI informed then Energy Secretary Vincent Perez Jr. about the effect of alternative fuel use on motor vehicle warranties.

CAMPI specificially cited that, "consistent with existing policy on warranty of motor vehicles, any problem that may be caused or proven to be attributable to the use of fuel or additives not recommended or approved by the manufacturer, after conducting an appropriate test and investigation, shall cause the warranty of such vehicle to be considered null and void." Covered within this purview are problems directly affecting the following systems or components of the motor vehicle: fuel tank and fuel lines; engine fuel pump and injector; combustion chambers; exhaust systems; and other related functional components."