Government officials are considering new tests to combat a warning by car-makers that a "biofuel" could damage countless used Japanese vehicle imports.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is looking at running independent tests, despite being confident most vehicles can run safely on a 10 per cent ethanol-petrol
blend launched in Auckland on Wednesday by Gull Petroleum.
Authority senior adviser Elizabeth Yeaman said last night that she did not believe the tests were needed on technical grounds.
But they were being considered to allay public concerns after what she believed were ill-founded warnings from car-makers that ethanol blends could corrode fuel lines, posing fire risks.
The Motor Industry Association, representing manufacturers, says vehicles built for Japan's domestic market and shipped here second-hand cannot be guaranteed to be suitable for fuel blends with more than 3 per cent ethanol.
Toyota New Zealand warns that higher ethanol blends could cause fuel lines to leak into engines, possibly causing fires.
After-sales general manager Paul Carroll said yesterday that fuel systems made by Toyota in Japan for export markets were of a higher grade than for domestic customers, to cover more eventualities.
"Gull in our view is irresponsible in bringing the product out and informing customers that it is suitable for their cars."
But the Automobile Association has welcomed Gull's introduction of its new fuel blend, which is rated at 98-octane for high-performance vehicles, even though it says the Motor Industry Association has told it a full list of cars suited to ethanol will not be ready until next week.
Ms Yeaman said tests on other countries' vehicle fleets had shown them capable of running on higher ethanol contents, and the car industry had been unable to tell her agency what components it was supplying to export markets that were unavailable in Japan.
She said a test conducted by Japanese manufacturers had been skewed by the addition of peroxide, a highly corrosive chemical, aimed at simulating abnormally long storage times in countries with far lower fuel specifications that those in force in New Zealand.
Australian-owned Gull says it has taken the extra precaution of adding an anti-corrosive agent to its new Force 10 ethanol blend.
"The last thing we are going to do is put product out there that is going to harm our customers - that would be ludicrous," said New Zealand general manager Dave Bodger.
