Fuel Quality
The Australian automotive industry is committed to making a robust contribution to national efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and improve air quality.
The FCAI C02 Voluntary CO2 Emissions Standard calculates industry and brand CO2 targets on a sales-weighted average mass per unit basis against sales recorded in VFACTS, the industry data source. Reported yearly, the results will be divided into separate reporting categories – MA (Passenger Cars and Light SUVs) and MC + NA (Heavy SUVs and Light Commercial Vehicles) in line with international practice.
FCAI Emissions Three Point Plan
What is the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries voluntary CO2 Emissions Standard
Australian Vehicle Industry 2020 CO2 Emissions Results
Results by brand: Monitoring CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2020
CO2 Standard: Rules for Calculating Brand Targets and Assessing Brand Compliance
CO2 Standard: Rules for Reporting Brand Targets and Brand Achievement
Clearly zero-emission vehicles – including battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles – will increasingly populate our roads as they are developed by international parent companies. But, without Government market intervention on a scale seen in other countries, it will be the mid-late 2020s before sales of these sorts of vehicles will rise beyond the current level of less than 2.0 per-cent of the national total.
So, while the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) supports the introduction of a CO2 standard relevant to the Australian market and the introduction of ‘Euro 6’ exhaust emission standards, in the meantime, the poor quality of fuel sold at Australian service stations will continue to be the number one issue influencing outcomes across the board in this space.
Indeed ‘Euro 6’ has several stages and is dependent on petrol meeting European standard EN228 and diesel meeting EN590. New compact cars already heading to market will simply not meet the initial stage until we’re filling their tanks with European standard fuel – in fact, the Toyota Corolla Hybrid and Mazda 3 2.0-litre petrol now sold in Australia have de-tuned engines to operate with our fuel standards.
Put bluntly, an investment of $1 billion into the four Australian refineries is required to develop world-standard fuel (95 RON, 10 parts-per-million Sulphur and 35 per-cent aromatics for petrol).
Until this is achieved, Australian new car buyers – many currently welded to historic 91 RON fuel – will not be able to purchase vehicles with the latest engine and exhaust technology. In essence, engines in new cars sold in Australia will be those powering similar vehicles sold in 3rd world countries with similar fuel standards and, due to the declining numbers of cars produced for these markets, engines will increasingly become more expensive.
Why? Because global automotive companies are now focusing on the development of engine/exhaust technologies applicable to large markets (India and China) and advanced markets (Europe, USA and North Asia)…markets with fuel standards much higher than Australia.
Given total Australian new car sales each year are less than 2.0 per-cent of the global total, it would be economically impossible for any brand to develop engines specifically for our market and fuel.
The FCAI contends the $1 billion expenditure for Australian refineries is a small investment – indeed automotive companies regularly spend this much on the R&D of a new model.
In conjunction with the AAA and AIP, the FCAI has developed a roadmap addressing vehicle emissions which includes:
- Australian fuel quality standards
- Introduction of ‘Euro 6’ pollutant (particulate matter) emissions standards; and
- The introduction of a realistic, achievable and market-relevant C02 emissions standard.
Why ‘realistic’, ‘achievable’ and ‘market relevant’? Because to do otherwise would remove the choice desired by Australian new car buyers, 43 per-cent of whom now prefer SUVs and LCVs (light commercial vehicles such as utes). The FCAI advocates two separate C02 targets by 2030 – one for passenger cars and one for SUVs and LCVs – and, moving forward, separate targets for different vehicle categories (just as they do in Europe and North America).
That roadmap takes into account the local petroleum refining industry’s timeline for achieving the required standards – 10 PPM of Sulphur in particular – by 2027 and allows seamless integration into new model cycles of international vehicle manufacturers.
Defining the agreed timeline will be significant as new model development in the automotive industry is considerable and typically takes a minimum of four years. The FCAI/AAA/AIP proposal suggests an interim step towards achievement of European fuel standards which harmonizes Sulphur and aromatics figures, but, as a stop-gap, maintains 91 RON (95 RON in Europe).
The good news is that while these new engines come on-stream, Australia’s carpark of existing vehicles will also contribute to better air quality, simply by switching to the new fuels.
Fuel quality
The FCAI and member companies’ long-standing position is that fuel quality standards, GHG emission targets (i.e. CO2 standards or targets) and vehicle pollutant emission standards all need to be considered together, as they are all interrelated. This position it is shared by the global automotive industry, regulators and research organisations.
To assist with meeting targets for reduction in Green House Gas emissions (including CO2) and regulations for vehicle tailpipe emissions, the Australian automotive industry recommends the Commonwealth Government harmonise Australia’s fuel quality standards with international standards recommended in the World Wide Fuel Charter.
This will ensure fuel standards complement engine technologies to achieve the best environmental and performance outcomes. FCAI recommends that Australia look to overseas experience to ensure that domestic standards are those most suitable technically and commercially.
The FCAI is of the view that the most effective method to achieve nationally consistent fuel quality standards, that are enforceable and provide a suitable level of consumer protection, is through a national regulatory standard. Therefore, the FCAI supports nationally regulated fuel quality standards.
The Fuel Quality Standards Act 2000 provides a legislative framework for setting national fuel quality and fuel quality information standards for Australia. For more information, visit the Fuel Quality Standards page of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) website.
The Australian fuel industry and fuel suppliers must meet legislative requirements:
For specific information on FCAI’s recommendation with respect to fuel blends containing Ethanol and Bio-diesel, visit the Alternative Fuels page of this website.
Ethanol
Under the authority of the Fuel Quality Standards Act, the Fuel Quality Standard (Petrol) Determination allows for ethanol blends of up to 10% to be provided in Australia.
Ethanol-blend fuels, such as E10 are available as an alternative to unleaded petrol (ULP). All new and most older vehicle models effectively operate on petrol with up to 10% ethanol, i.e. E10.
FCAI member brands provide information on the capability of their vehicles to operate on ethanol fuel blends, subject to the fuel meeting the relevant mandatory Australian fuel quality standards including the minimum octane rating (RON) and maximum sulphur levels. For correct in-service operation and to meet emission standards, many modern vehicles require premium unleaded petrol (PULP) which has a minimum of 95 RON and a maximum of 50 ppm sulphur.
Some E10 unleaded petrol blends are marketed as 94 RON petrol. For example, in NSW the fuel is often labelled as “Ethanol 94 (E10)”. However, as these blends use 91 RON unleaded petrol, they do not meet all fuel standards for PULP (95 RON) and can have up to 150 ppm sulphur.
To avoid operational issues, vehicle owners should use the fuel recommended by the manufacturer and the vehicle should be maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s servicing procedures using genuine replacement parts. This will ensure that the fuel and emission control systems of vehicles continue to operate as designed on ethanol-blend fuels.
Biodiesel
Under the authority of the Fuel Quality Standards Act, the Fuel Quality Standard (Automotive Diesel) Determination allows for diesel with blends of up to 5% biodiesel to be provided in Australia. All new and most older diesel powered vehicle models operate effectively on diesel with up to 5% biodiesel, i.e. B5.
FCAI member brands provide information on the capability of their vehicles to operate on biodiesel blends, subject to the fuel meeting the relevant mandatory Australian fuel quality standards including the minimum cetane rating and maximum sulphur levels. For correct in-service operation and to meet emission standards, many modern vehicles require diesel which has a maximum of 10 ppm sulphur.
To avoid operational issues, vehicle owners should use the fuel recommended by the manufacturer and the vehicle should be maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s servicing procedures using genuine replacement parts. This will ensure that the fuel and emission control systems of vehicles continue to operate as designed on biodiesel blend fuels.
Key facts
- CO2 emissions from new light vehicles have decreased by 22 per cent over the last 10 years.
- Private road transport accounted for 7.8 per cent of Australia’s GHG emissions in 2013–14.
- The impact of new light vehicles on annual GHG emissions equates to around 0.5 per cent.
- The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) has found that fuel efficiency of the in-service fleet has improved since 1980; however, GHG emissions from transport have grown and are projected to continue to grow.
- The National Transport Commissions (NTC) has reported that over the past decade, overall light vehicle (cars, SUVs and LCVs) CO2 emissions have reduced by 22 per cent. This reduction is comparable to other countries, on a like-for-like comparison. Looking at results of laboratory certification tests of CO2 emissions for cars and SUVs:
- The EU has annual emissions reduction of 2.8 per cent.
- The OECD average is 2.6 per cent.
- The annual reduction in Australia for passenger cars and SUVs is 3.5 per cent.