Petrol additives spark market war

Press, 30 July 1986, Page 11

Petrol additives spark market war

PA Wellington A market war between different brands of petrol has broken out with the launching by three oil companies of separate additives to their petrol.

The addition of additives, which are being heavily advertised, marks the end of the unofficial ceasefire over distinctive petrols which has existed since the first oil crisis in the early 19705.

Of the five brands now on the market only one, Caltex, is not introducing a new additive.

Industry sources said that the jostling for greater brand share comes ahead of an expected deregulation of the oil industry which is likely to make the petrol market more competitive.

Shell will introduce on August 11 a patented additive called a spark

aider, which the company says will make petrol bum more consistently, increasing power particularly in acceleration, and a detergent to keep the engine clean-burning. Shell says that its petrol, to be called Formula Shell, will increase fuel economy about 2 per cent in new cars and about 2 to 3 per cent in used cars. Shell’s automotive retail manager, Mr Tony White, said at its Wellington launch that Formula Shell was a new petrol. They would be put into the basic Marsden Point Refinery petrol at Shell depots and distribution points around New Zealand.

BP has launched its Super Detergent Additive, which a spokesman said would clean up carbon deposits in the engine and

be of benefit to both fuel injected cars and older models.

He said the Europa additive, to be called Drive, was believed to be the same as SDA.

Europa is owned by the BP company. Mobil jumped the gun on its competitors two months ago with the introduction of the detergent additive, Mobil MAX. But a Caltex spokesman said his company had been using its Bofon additive for more than 20 years and saw no need to introduce another additive.

He said the company did see a need to put additives into unleaded petrol when it was introduced next January. Unleaded petrol was more prone to form deposits on fuel injectors.