Car dealers, cautious over Pertamina's new fuel products

Car dealers, cautious over Pertamina's new fuel products

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Car dealers have cautiously welcomed the newly launched unleaded
fuel products known by their trade names, Pertamax and Pertamax
Plus, but questioned whether they would be an improvement over
their predecessors, Premix and Super TT, both in terms of quality
and distribution.

"As a car dealer, we want to know whether it is simply a
change of brand name or whether the products are actually better
than the previous ones," Christian S. Iskandar, vice president of
PT Auto Euro Indonesia, which distributes Renault cars from
France, told The Jakarta Post.

Djunaedi Hadiwidjaja, chief executive officer of PT Central
Sole Agency, the authorized dealer for Sweden's Volvo cars, was
of the same opinion, saying that "If they are meant to replace
Premix and Super TT, than they should at least be as good as
these are."

Launched on Dec. 10 in conjunction with Pertamina's 45th
anniversary, Pertamax and Pertamax Plus are gradually replacing
Premix and Super TT.

The car dealers, however, urged the government to improve the
distribution of Pertamax and Pertamax Plus so as to make them
available in a wider area.

"Super TT and Premix are difficult to find in areas outside
Java and Sumatra. As a consequence, we cannot sell our cars in
more remote regions such as Kalimantan as prospective buyers
cannot find suitable fuel," Christian added.

Super TT is a high quality unleaded fuel. It is produced to
cater to the demands of high compression engines and a more
environmentally friendly fuel. It is characterized by its
Research Octane Number (RON) of a minimum 95.

Premix is similar to Super TT but has a lower RON of 94.

Pertamax and Pertamax Plus have RONs of 92 and 95
respectively.

Premix and Super TT have only been available in big cities in
Java and few cities in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Super TT in particular is needed for vehicles produced from
1992 and equipped with a catalytic converter.

A catalytic converter is used to convert dangerous fuel
emissions into emissions that are friendly to the environment and
human health

At present, most completely built-up vehicles are equipped
with catalytic converters.

Pertamina spokesman Ridwan Nyak Baik said that at present
Pertamax and Pertamax Plus were only available in areas in
Jakarta such as Semanggi and Tanah Abang.

"By 2003, we hope they will have been marketed throughout Java
and Bali. Gradually, they will be sold nationwide," he added.

Pertamax is sold at Rp 2,300 per liter, Rp 100 lower than
Premix. While Pertamax Plus is sold at Rp 2,500 per liter,
similar to Super TT.

Christian said that the Super TT sold in gas stations often
had lower RON than claimed.

"As a result, the vehicles cannot perform well. Although there
has been no research done ... in a long term, this could damage
the vehicles," he said.

Djunaedi added that he heard many complaints from car owners
saying that Premix formed a sediment inside the gas tank.

"It gives imperfect combustion and finally jams the engine,"
he said.

"Overall, we just want fuel that is environmentally friendly
but also suitable for international standard engines," Christian
asserted.

Ridwan Nyak Baik, Pertamina's spokesman quickly denied the
allegation saying that Pertamax and Pertamax Plus gave a better
and faster engine combustion performance without causing a
detonation effect.

"And the emissions are cleaner because both are unleaded
fuels," he stressed, adding that Pertamax and Pertamax Plus were
the latest attempt by the company to catch up with the latest
automotive technology.

Further, Ridwan said that although all four fuels had nearly
the same RON, the additives in Pertamax and Pertamax Plus were
much better than those in Premix and Super TT.

Pertamina has given assurances that car owners can change over
directly from Premix and Super TT to Pertamax and Pertamax Plus.

The company said it would directly handle the branding and
marketing of Pertamax and Pertamax Plus. Premix and Super TT were
marketed by Pertamina's subsidiary PT El Nusa.