In a turn of events, the Government and the private sector will postpone the implementation of B10 (blending of 10% palm methyl ester with 90% petroleum diesel) biodiesel in Malaysia until further notice. The decision came after a meeting by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), following an appeal from the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI).
According to The Sun Daily, MPIC surmised that there was inadequate data that B10 biodiesel was compliant with the specifications of all the carmakers that are invested in Malaysia’s Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) programme.
Present at the meeting were MPIC’s secretary-general, Datuk M. Nagarajan, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Malaysian Biodiesel Association (MBA), Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA).
“It’s not that we don’t support B10 bio-diesel. But there is the matter of scientific and replicable data. Car makers need to respect their customers in terms of warranties,” a source told The Sun Daily.
The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has claimed that the usage of biodiesel in grades higher than B7 may result in fatty-acid methyl ester (FAME) mixing with the motor oil, causing the oil to thin and possibly leading to sludging in the engine.
Various manufacturers like BMW Malaysia, Isuzu, Toyota and Volkswagen have issued their concerns in relation to B10 biodiesel implementation. On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia says that its diesel-powered vehicles will be fully compatible with the new blend.
“It was noted at the meeting that a few days’ test drive of a few diesel cars up and down Cameron Highlands does not constitute a robust trial. It would be ideal if MPOB could do a lab research in cooperation with the relevant auto makers,” said a source who attended the meeting.
“Even the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association (JAMA) has cautioned its members with operations in Malaysia against the use of the type of B10 biodiesel as proposed by MPOB,” the MAA council member said.
What are your thoughts on the implementation of B10 biodiesel in Malaysia? Is it something that diesel vehicle owners will welcome and benefit from, or will it lead to increased visits to the service centre? Have your say in the comments section below.
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Government now should study the usage of ethanol in our petrol now. More environment frinedly.
Today no Proton news? What a peaceful day.
Sorento 2.2 Diesel booked!
Mana john? Want to comment what now?
See my bashing below.
Why must delay again???
99.99% diesel vehicles in msia r not affected at all i.e. lori, bas, traktor n pikap…mostly komersil use to boost our local ekonomy and sapott use of palm oil tempatan.
Hanya 0.01% mainly Conti diesel private cars r affected & Conti brands got experts to handle this 1 off situation.
This is abt sacrificing the good of public majority just to benefit tiny minoriti well-to-do.
maner Demokrasi kiter??
Pity Msia to have people like you who don’t have common sense.
Read properly, JAMA also caution member about B10. Scania and Mercedez is ok with B10. FYI Scania & Mercedez is European. Just in case you are not aware.
When one wishes to attract carmakers to invest in Malaysia and bring in clean Diesel engines one does not sabotage them by introducing incompatible fuel. It erodes the trust companies have in the government, reducing future possibilities of further investment. Governing and economics ABCs…
Mercedes Malaysia says that their cars are OK with B10. Then, why are they not bringing in any diesel motors for their latest E class?
Why delay again? Just implement it and tell these guys to adhere.
If they think we r crazy, then Indon is 2 times more crazier than us. And we shud be worried if Indon is really 2X more crazy.
I don’t even know whether to laugh or cry when I read that they only tested a few diesel cars up the Cameron’s for a few days. Don’t usually tests involve over 100k miles worth of tests on the road?
Becoz bashers says dun need to test here test there test until Matt Damon come home from Mars, just launch it alredi?
Why am I not surprised?
Malaysian G is well known for its flip flop.
Fresh palm oil should be used as food not fuel.
Used cooking/waste oil, yes.
We have to buy cooking oil at a higher price soon. Thank you.
Theres plenty of palm oil to go around. We can oso prioritise local comsumption 1st, instead of trying to fight against French anti-palm oil lobby.
flip flop lagi…
Merc you say no problem with you engine? you tested for 100km ah? as we know diesel engine is tough..100km just nothing..should test 1timingbelt range@100k km
all i see here is just blah blah blah from so-called diesel experts.
Longh, have u been to a Merc dealer? Merc do have diesel mills, just that the markets here aren’t in favor of them.
UMW, u keyboard warrior. what r u? what is your area of expertise? how did u know MErc tested for 100km?
I did remember Merc did bringing in W211 CDI but later abandoned it. They brought in again W212 without diesel initially. Then bring in diesel hybrid for the W212 facelift to take advantage of the EEV incentive. Selling for slightly more than 1 year and now it seems they likely to abandon it again…. see the link below.
http://paultan.org/2016/06/09/mercedes-benz-malaysia-planning-to-bring-in-e350e-hybrid/
Seeing such actions from MBM, I don’t think they are serious about bringing diesel engine in Malaysia. Also their Fuso trucks can only take B5. Check out the link below…
http://paultan.org/2015/06/18/mercedes-toyota-vw-malaysia-b10-biodiesel/
So Mr Banyak cakap, what Lough is saying is correct. MBM did bring in W212 diesel but likely not bring in latest current W213 generation.
Why it has been push to the market at the first place especially with inadequate data & uninformed decisions..?
Which stakeholders did they talked to..?
The push could be to reduce the palm oil reserve we have. Also a push for demand for palm oil. I am not a supporter for using food as fuel.
A lot of diesel powered car owners must be relieved to hear this news. Implementation such as this must get clearance and concession from all diesel car manufacturers. Be fair to them and car owners.
Stop syok sendiri and pushing palm oil industry own agenda indiscreminately.
Totally agree with your comments. Unfortunately, the ability to think of repercussions have gotten lost among those think brains at Ministry of Plantations.
The spiraling impact to the economy is great when the transportation industry is impacted. Prices will shoot up since the cost of repair or replacement will be passed on to consumers…yet again.