Unexpected: Brazilian Cars Use Bioethanol, Engines Imported from Karawang

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Gabungan Industri Kendaraan Bermotor (Gaikindo) has revealed that engine components used by vehicles in Brazil are imported from Karawang, West Java. The components can be used for petrol with ethanol blends up to 85% (E85).

Gaikindo Secretary General Kukuh Kumara said that cars used in Brazil employ Karawang-made engine components. ‘The engines are made in Karawang and are used in Brazil. The engines are not designed to receive up to E85. So the engines exported there are used by Brazil for the cars there,’ he said at the Energy Forum B50 CNBC Indonesia, quoted on Friday (6 March 2026).

Utilising Karawang-made engine components for Brazil’s cars demonstrates that Indonesia can achieve success if consistency is maintained. According to him, ethanol utilisation has so far reached only 5% (E5) in Indonesia. ‘We are currently at E4; we use some, but the blend up to E15 is on the horizon. If we adopt this, it will be attractive; the public will be interested in the fuel. At present, E5 has an RON of 95, and we must promote it because we already have the product,’ he added.

Earlier, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) was finalising a road map for phasing in mandatory bioethanol as a petrol blend. Going forward, bioethanol feedstock will not rely on a single source. The government will open opportunities to use various local natural resources in addition to sugarcane molasses as bioethanol feedstock. Other materials that could be utilised include corn husks and palm trunk.

Diversifying feedstocks is intended to ensure bioethanol production is not solely dependent on sugarcane juice or molasses. This approach is also informed by a government study tour to India, where the country has developed bioethanol from a range of sources with price variations that remain competitive.