3. The New Zealand Fuel Market and Vehicle Fleet
This section looks at our sources of petrol and diesel and patterns of use - where our fuel comes from and where it is used. These factors are important when considering the implications of any changes to the Regulations, as far as determining our particular requirements and how best to meet them. This section also considers the characteristics of the New Zealand vehicle fleet and the patterns of non-automotive use of fuels.
3.1 Fuel Market
New Zealand uses around 2.2 million tonnes of petrol per annum (2,900 million litres), of which about 75% is regular grade. The corresponding diesel consumption is around 1.9 million tonnes per annum (2,400 million litres) (MED, 2001a). As a comparison, the Australian market is currently around 13.5 million tonnes of petrol and 6 million tonnes of diesel per annum (EA, 2000a). The relative volumes of diesel and petrol for the two countries are significantly different.
Petrol consumption in New Zealand has been fairly static over the last 5 years, with annual growth averaging less than 1%, and the proportion of premium grade slowly declining. There has been a fairly steady growth in diesel consumption however, averaging around 5% over the last 5 years.
3.1.1 Where Does New Zealand's Fuel Come from?
Petrol and diesel supplied in New Zealand comes from two sources:
- Crude oil refined at the Marsden Point Refinery; and
- Direct imports of finished product
Marsden Point Refinery
The Marsden Point Refinery is owned and operated by the New Zealand Refining Company (NZRC) and has been operating since 1964. A major expansion was completed in 1986. NZRC is a publicly listed company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange; the current shareholding is shown in Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 : Marsden Point Refinery Shareholding
The Refinery is a tolling operation, that is, it charges a toll on each litre of fuel produced. It processes crude oil on behalf of the refinery users (who are also shareholders) but the NZRC does not own the oil or the products. The processing fee is related to regional refining margins (i.e. crude and product price differentials), which are affected by available refining capacity and regional economic performance. The Marsden Point Refinery effectively competes against other refineries in the region, with Singapore product costs being a benchmark, though other factors such as transport costs and strategic considerations also come into play.
These ownership arrangements are somewhat unusual in the refining business. It is more common for oil companies to own their own refineries, as in Australia, where each of the four major oil companies has two refineries. This is an important consideration when looking at options for any changes to fuel quality and in understanding the differences between New Zealand and Australia.
The Marsden Point Refinery processes around 5 million tonnes of feedstocks each year (mostly crude oils, but also some residues and semi-refined streams). It is essentially a "middle distillate" refinery, configured primarily for the production of jet fuel and diesel, rather than petrol. In the early 1980s, a synthetic petrol plant was built at Motonui to produce 25% of New Zealand's petrol requirements from natural gas. The refinery expansion project in the mid-1980s was designed to complement this by producing predominantly distillates (kerosene and diesel). The Motonui plant is now owned by Methanex and no longer produces petrol, therefore New Zealand has a shortfall in petrol production.
The Marsden Point Refinery produces around 95% of New Zealand's jet fuel requirements and 90% of its diesel, but only about 65% of its petrol. The balance of the petrol and diesel requirement is imported directly as finished product. In addition to automotive fuels and jet fuel, the refinery produces fuel oils (LFO, HFO and HBFO) as well as bitumen. The range and split of fuels produced by the Refinery is shown in Figure 3.2. Annual consumption and sources of petrol and diesel are shown in Figure 3.3.
Figure 3.2 : Marsden Point Refinery Production, Year 2000
Figure 3.3 : Consumption of Petrol and Diesel by Source - Year Sept 2000
Sources of Crude Oil
Crude oil feedstocks for the Marsden Point Refinery come from a range of sources. The selection of crudes for processing reflects the Refinery's configuration as primarily a producer of middle distillates and its ability to produce high quality products from relatively low quality (and price) feedstocks (high sulphur crudes and residues). These feedstocks typically fall into the following main categories:
Table 3.1: Marsden Point Refinery Feedstocks
| Feedstock | Characteristics | Typical proportion of total feedstock (by tonnage) |
| Middle East crudes | Medium to high sulphur, high residue | 45% |
| Far East crudes | Lower sulphur, waxier, richer in middle distillates and more expensive | 35% |
| Residues | Upgraded by vacuum distillation | 8% |
| Condensates | Kapuni, Maui and imported condensates - sources of naphtha | 13% |
New Zealand crudes may be processed at the Refinery or exported depending on the buyer and the market price.
The sulphur content of petrol produced at Marsden Point is very low, as the catalytic reforming process used for producing petrol requires sulphur to be removed from the feed stream. However, significant quantities of imported petrol blendstocks are required to blend with the Refinery product to meet octane and aromatics limits, and these are the primary source of any sulphur in the petrol produced in New Zealand. Last year, these blendstocks made up around 11% by volume of the Refinery's total petrol production. These blendstocks include catalytically cracked spirit (petrol), low aromatics PULP, alkylate, reformate and isomerate from overseas refineries.
By comparison with most Australian refineries, Marsden Point has a significant hydrocracking capacity (a process which converts heavy streams to lighter kerosene and gas oil (diesel)) with capability to process heavy, sour (high sulphur) crudes. The Refinery's current capacity for hydrodesulphurisation of diesel is limited and is insufficient to meet the low sulphur levels (500 ppm) now becoming common in many countries, for all the diesel it produces. While the low sulphur diesel currently being sold in Christchurch is produced at the Refinery there is insufficient capacity to meet all New Zealand's requirements at this level. This is discussed in more detail in Section 8.1.7.
The Refinery is also constrained with regard to the aromatics content of petrol. As previously noted, petrol blendstocks are already used to achieve the required octane rating while staying within aromatics limits. Further reductions in aromatics and in future olefins as well, will have implications for the production of petrol at the Refinery. BP and Mobil's high octane petrols are imported directly from Australia.
Distribution of Refinery Product
There are three main avenues for distribution of product from the Marsden Point Refinery to regional centres:
- By pipeline to the Wiri storage terminal in South Auckland;
- By coastal tanker to storage terminals at New Zealand ports;
- By road tanker - the tanker loading facility adjacent to the Refinery is used for distribution to outlets throughout Northland and North Auckland.
About 800,000 tonnes of petrol and 470,000 tonnes of diesel are pumped through the Refinery to Auckland pipeline to the Wiri terminal each year. Fuel is distributed from Wiri by road tanker throughout the greater Auckland area and as far south as the Waikato. Last year, areas supplied from Wiri accounted for around 36% of New Zealand's total petrol and 25% of the total diesel usage. Together with jet fuel, the pipeline throughput made up around 45% of the Refinery's total production.
Imported fuel
The balance of diesel and petrol requirements not met by the Refinery is imported directly, predominantly to the storage terminals at Wellington, Lyttelton and Mt. Maunganui. This fuel comes mainly from refineries in the Asia - Pacific region including Australia, Singapore and Korea, but sometimes also from further afield (the USA and the Middle East). All four major oil companies import petrol and diesel to supplement the production from Marsden Point. In the past, the two smaller operators, Challenge and Gull Petroleum, have imported all their fuel - Challenge, through the ports of New Plymouth and Timaru, and Gull, through Mt. Maunganui (refer "Fuel Suppliers - New Entrants" in section 3.1.3).
As already noted, around 35% of New Zealand's current petrol requirements and 10% of its diesel is imported directly. Australia's refineries are generally configured to process Australian crudes which are relatively low in sulphur. Most of them produce petrol through catalytic cracking.
3.1.2 Where Is New Zealand's Fuel Used?
Figures 3.4 and 3.5 show New Zealand's pattern of consumption of petrol and diesel respectively for the year 2000. Last year, 98% of petrol consumed was used for transport and 96% of this was sold through retail outlets (petrol stations). By comparison, 80% of diesel consumed was used for transport but only 65% of this was sold through retail outlets.
Non-road use of diesel is discussed in more detail in Section 3.3.
Figure 3.4 : Petrol Use in New Zealand, Year 2000
Figure 3.5 : Diesel Use in New Zealand, Year 2000
3.1.3 Fuel Suppliers
"Majors"
While the deregulation of the oil industry in 1988 opened the way for new players to enter the market, after more than ten years the four major oil companies (Caltex, Mobil, Shell and BP) still supply around 95% of the petrol and diesel sold in New Zealand. These four companies each have a shareholding in the Marsden Point Refinery, as well as having joint ownership of Wiri Oil Services Limited (which operates the Wiri Storage Terminal) and the Marsden Point Tanker Loading Facility.
The four "majors" also operate storage terminals and distribution facilities at 10 ports throughout New Zealand. Shell and BP own the New Zealand Oil Services Limited joint venture, which operates a number of these terminals on their behalf. Coastal Tankers Ltd, which operates the two coastal tankers Kakariki and Taiko, is also jointly owned by the four majors.
Competition in the fuels market has seen significant rationalisation of distribution infrastructure in the last few years. "Borrow and loan" and hosting arrangements enable all four companies to optimise shipping and use of terminal storage capacity and distribution infrastructure. There are also established arrangements for management and allocation of fuel stocks in each distribution centre if these fall below minimum levels (such as in the event of disruption to shipping or fuel quality problems).
"New Entrants"
Until recently, there were two smaller independent operators supplying petrol and diesel in New Zealand - Gull and Challenge, but with the recent sale of Challenge to Caltex, there is now effectively only one. Gull Petroleum has a storage terminal at Mt. Maunganui and retail outlets in the northern half of the North Island. It sources all of its product directly from overseas rather than through the Marsden Point Refinery and has around 2% of the market.
Challenge Petroleum, which was formerly owned by Fletcher Challenge Energy, has storage terminals in New Plymouth and Timaru and a national network of retail outlets and truckstops. Previously as an independent operator, it had around 4% of the market. It also sourced its fuel from outside New Zealand, but under the new ownership, this may change as its parent company has access to production from the Marsden Point Refinery.
3.1.4 Regulatory vs. Internal Specifications
All the suppliers of fuel are required to meet the mandatory quality requirements of the Regulations which apply (in most cases) at the point of sale or supply. Some minor changes in fuel properties will inevitably occur during storage and distribution and the costs of handling and reprocessing off-specification product, particularly if it has just arrived on a tanker from overseas, can be considerable. The fuel suppliers therefore have their own internal specifications for refined product which are significantly more comprehensive and in some cases more stringent than the regulatory requirements. These reflect more specific marketing requirements (such as geographical variations) and allow some operating margin for quality changes between storage and sale.
As all four major oil companies are common users of the Marsden Point Refinery, and all receive imported product at their various terminals, a common "NZRC and User Company" specification is used for all product refined by the Refinery on their behalf, and all imported fuel which they purchase. The smaller operators have their own internal specifications. The net effect of the above arrangements is that while all fuel supplied in New Zealand must comply with the requirements of the Regulations, more than 95% of it also complies with a common internal specification. However, past experience indicates that variations within the specified range can still cause operating problems, as evidenced by the recent problems with blocking of diesel filters.
One of the key questions in this review is to determine the appropriate balance between government regulation and oil industry self-regulation - deciding those fuel quality parameters which it is necessary to specify by law and those which the oil industry can be left to control itself. Given the high level of integration of the distribution infrastructure and the dominance of the four major players, fuel quality problems, if they do occur, are unlikely to be limited to only one supplier. Again the recent diesel problems illustrate this very graphically.
As New Zealand is a small country, and with the current high level of public interest in fuel costs, all suppliers have a strong vested interest in ensuring that the fuel they sell is of consistent high quality and that there is a high level of consumer satisfaction. However, there is a role for the Regulations in ensuring a level playing field and protecting consumers and the environment, particularly in relation to fuel quality issues that may not immediately manifest themselves.
3.2 New Zealand's Vehicle Fleet
New Zealand's vehicle fleet covers a wide range of vehicle and emission technologies and is considered to be, on average, quite old. This is an important consideration when looking at current fuel quality specifications in other countries, which have generally been developed for fleets which are, on average, much newer, and highlights the need for any changes to the specifications to reflect the unique character of the New Zealand fleet.
However, all vehicles entering the fleet (both new and second-hand) are sourced from overseas and incorporate engine and emission technology available at the time of their manufacture (though this may vary according to the market the vehicle was manufactured for). Therefore over time, the "average" state of technology of the fleet will improve as vehicle development feeds through via fleet turnover. The extent to which this "average" technology level will continue to lag behind the "state-of-the-art" as reflected in new vehicles depends on policies and other influences which determine vehicle turnover in New Zealand.
3.2.1 Vehicle Fleet Emissions
In 1996, the Ministry of Transport began work on its Vehicle Fleet Emissions Control Strategy (VFECS). The purpose of this work was to characterise and quantify emissions from the New Zealand vehicle fleet, as a basis for evaluating policy options for emissions reduction. A summary of this work is given in Appendix D. More detail is given in the various VFECS reports (MOT, 1997, 1998a-g, 1999).
The VFECS work involved the development of a detailed vehicle fleet emissions model (VFEM) to characterise emission rates according to vehicle type, age, fuel and driving conditions and to predict the likely impact of fleet changes and driving patterns over time. In addition to the VFEM, an Environmental Capacity Analysis (ECA) model was also developed to predict emissions rates at a localised geographical level, based on vehicle routes and traffic patterns, for use as a tool in local air quality management.
There are a number of factors that influence emission rates from vehicles, as illustrated in Figure 3.6. One of the key findings from the VFECS work was the significant impact that congestion and driving conditions have on vehicle emissions rates and the relatively smaller impact of vehicle and emissions control technology. VFECS identified that a review of fuel quality should also be carried out and this has been one of the drivers for this present work.
The VFEM provides a means for predicting fleet and traffic growth and characterising the fleet by age, condition and level of engine and emissions technology and so has been a useful source of indicative data for the following sections.
Figure 3.6 : Influences on Vehicle Emissions
3.2.2 Fleet Make-Up
The following figures from the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) vehicle registry data summarise the characteristics of the New Zealand vehicle fleet, as at the end of 2000 (LTSA, 2001).
- Vehicle numbers and types
- There were around 2,750,000 vehicles on the current register, an increase of 61,000 over the previous year. Of these, there were 427,000 trucks, 14,000 buses, 13,000 motor caravans and 79,000 motorcycles and mopeds. The balance, which makes up about 80% of the total, is cars.
- Geographical distribution
- Around 39% of all vehicles were registered in the Auckland or Hamilton areas.
- New vs. used vehicles
- During the year 2000, there were around 215,000 new registrations. Around 65% of these were used imports, the balance new vehicles. There were 174,000 cars of which 67% were used, and 23,000 commercial vehicles of which 30% were used.
- Petrol vs. diesel
- Nearly 93% of cars currently on the register are petrol driven, and around 7% (approximately 148,000) are diesel driven. There are around 278,000 other diesel vehicles including trucks, buses, motor caravans and tractors. LPG and CNG account for less than 1000 cars in total and less than 1700 other vehicles. However, the majority of CNG or LPG powered vehicles are dual-fuelled, and so appear on the register as petrol or diesel vehicles, according to their primary fuel.
- Vehicle age
- 82% of cars on the register are now more than 5 years old, 49% are more than 10 years old and 20% are more than 15 years old. The figures for buses and trucks are similar.
Sports/Age and Classic Vehicles
The size of the classic and older vehicle fleet has been estimated from LTSA vehicle registry data, and represents vehicles currently registered, not necessarily on the road. This is summarised in Table 3.2.
Table 3.2: Sports/Age, Classic and Older Vehicle Profiles
| Age of vehicle (date of first registration) | Cars | Trucks, buses and motor caravans | Total vehicles1 | Motorcycles and mopeds | Percentage of total vehicle fleet1 |
|---|
| Pre-1980 | 199,900 | 61,300 | 261,200 | 17,300 | 9.8% |
| Pre-1970 | 42,200 | 16,700 | 58,900 | 5,600 | 2.2% |
| Pre-1960 | 23,100 | 6,500 | 29,600 | 3,500 | 1.1% |
| Pre-1950 | 10,500 | 2,500 | 13,000 | 1,300 | 0.5% |
| Total | 275,700 | 87,000 | 362,700 | 27,700 | 13.6% |
Many pre-1980 vehicles will have been designed to run on leaded petrol and must now use after-market additives such as Valvemaster, or specialist fuels. Their numbers as a percentage of the overall fleet are small.
Other Vehicles
Other vehicle types on the register are shown in Table 3.3.
Table 3.3: Other Vehicles
| Vehicle type | Petrol | Diesel | Total |
|---|
| Tractors | 2,690 | 23,150 | 25,840 |
| ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) | 1,765 | 15 | 1,780 |
| Special purpose vehicles | 520 | 1,630 | 2,150 |
| Agricultural machines | 135 | 1,015 | 1,150 |
It is expected that these figures significantly underestimate the actual fleet, particularly in the agricultural sector where many vehicles will not be registered for road use. Figures from Federated Farmers for instance, suggest that the number of ATVs in New Zealand is actually closer to 70,000.
3.2.3 Where Do Our Vehicles Come from?
In the year 2000, there were about 74,000 brand new vehicles added to the fleet, or less than 3% of the total number registered. 51% of the new cars imported were from Japan. Other key sources are Australia, Korea, the United Kingdom and Germany, contributing around 6 - 8% each. These vehicles were certified against the emission standards of their respective countries of origin.
With the relaxation of import duties on vehicles over the last 15 years there has been a major influx of vehicles imported second hand, mostly from Japan. Figures from the Motor Industry Association for the period 1991 to 1994 (referenced in the VFECS report) show that, on average, 50% of new registrations for that period were for new vehicles and the balance were used imports. By comparison in the year 2000, 65% of new registrations were used imports and nearly 93% of these were from Japan.
For the 1991 - 1994 period, around 40% of all brand new vehicles were CBU (completely built up) imports from Australia, Japan and Europe. The remaining 60% were locally assembled from CKD (completely knocked down) kits, almost all from Japan. Local assembly of CKD vehicles progressively reduced, and finally ceased, in 1998.
The dominant fuel grade in Japan is 90 RON/80 MON (refer octane number, Section 7.1) and so the majority of New Zealand's petrol vehicle fleet is able to run on our regular grade (91 RON/82 MON). This is reflected in the balance between regular and premium grade consumption.
The following data from VFECS shows the estimated source of the vehicle fleet as at 1998. As can be seen, Japanese vehicles, either imported (new or used) or New Zealand assembled, account for over 85% of our petrol driven fleet.
Table 3.4 : Petrol Vehicle Fleet Makeup, 1998
| | Cars | LCVs2 | HCVs3 | Total |
|---|
| NZ Assembled (Japan) | 47.4% | 75.8% | | 1,054,000 |
| Japan | 36.0% | 20.6% | | 703,000 |
| Australia | 4.7% | 2.9% | | 92,000 |
| Europe | 11.9% | 0.7% | | 215,000 |
| Total no. of petrol vehicles | 1,798,000 | 266,420 | | 2,064,000 |
Table 3.5: Diesel Vehicle Fleet Makeup, 1998
| | Cars | LCVs4 | HCVs5 | Total |
|---|
| NZ Assembled (Japan) | 0.5% | 37.4% | 76.1% | 99,800 |
| Japan | 63.6% | 57.3% | 22.6% | 152,300 |
| Australia | 6.3% | 5.0% | 1.0% | 13,300 |
| Europe | 29.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 32,000 |
| Total no. of diesel vehicles | 104,000 | 122,900 | 70,000 | 297,000 |
3.2.4 Fleet Age and Turnover
Predicting the change in the vehicle fleet age and make-up over time as a basis for assessing its future environmental performance is difficult. The figures in Table 3.6 are projections based on the MOT's VFEM (Vehicle Fleet Emissions Model). These projections are based on a number of assumptions about population growth and factors affecting fleet turnover, and therefore must be treated with caution. It is noted that they are not completely consistent with figures from the vehicle registry (refer Section 3.2.2) but this is partly related to the way vehicle ages are reported. However, the predictions provide a useful indication of the likely uptake of new vehicle technology in the short term at least and there are clear trends. The baseline assumptions are presented in more detail in VFECS Stage 1 Report (MOT, 1997).
Table 3.6: Vehicle Fleet Age Profiles
| Year | % of cars >10 years old
(no. > 10 years old) | % of cars > 20 years old
(no. > 20 years old) |
|---|
| 1998 | 54%
(1,025,000) | 8.4%
(162,000) |
| 2001 | 62%
(1,309,000) | 10.7%
(227,000) |
| 2005 | 68%
(1,521,000) | 16.8%
(377,000) |
It must be noted when reading this table that a 10-year old car in 1998 will have been manufactured in 1988, whereas a 10-year old car in 2005 will have been manufactured in 1995 and therefore will have newer technology.
In 1998 there were around 121,000 cars first registered in 1988 (10 years before). By this year there are expected to be nearly 123,000 cars first registered in 1998, but by 2005 this will drop back to around 97,000.
The model also indicated that second hand imports made up 35% of the total car fleet in 1998 and predicts that this will rise to 47% by 2005. The corresponding figure for mid-1995, the base data originally used for the model, was 23%.
These predictions support anecdotal evidence that the vehicle fleet in New Zealand has started getting older, reversing the trends in previous years. The low exchange rate over the last year has forced importers to source cheaper vehicles. More countries are also opening up their borders to second hand cars so that the better quality cars are heading to more lucrative markets.
3.2.5 Fleet Utilisation
Vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) is a measure of the fleet utilisation and, in the absence of significant changes in fuel economy or driving patterns, is an indication of the likely growth of the vehicle fuel market. Estimates and projections have again been drawn from the VFEM work.
In 1998 petrol vehicles travelled 31,500 million km and diesel vehicles 7,800 million km. Petrol vehicle VKT was expected to grow 4.5% by 2001 but only a further 0.7% by 2005. Diesel vehicle VKT on the other hand was expected to grow by 11% by 2001 and a further 24% by 2005, signalling a swing towards greater popularity of diesel vehicles. Again, these predictions are based on assumptions about changing driving patterns and vehicle fleet make-up.
3.3 Emission Standards
While mandatory vehicle emission standards have been in place in many countries for a number of years, New Zealand is currently the only OECD country with no such standards. The Motor Industry Association, which represents importers of new vehicles, has a voluntary code of practice in place for its members. This states that all new models brought into the New Zealand market since January 1997, must have complied with emission standards from either Europe, Japan, the United States or Australia at the time of their manufacture. The code currently only applies to petrol cars and has now been in place for over three years. The intention was that all new models (as opposed to new vehicles) from that time would be fitted with exhaust catalysts.
The Ministry of Transport is presently drafting proposals to make this requirement mandatory for all new vehicles. For second-hand vehicles imported to New Zealand, the rule would apply to vehicles manufactured from 1990 onwards. For example, in order to import a vehicle first registered in 1994, it would be necessary to demonstrate that this particular model complied with the emission standards of one of those countries at that time (i.e. 1994). If for example, the vehicle in question was a Volkswagen manufactured in Brazil for the Brazilian market, and so was not certified for the emission standards of one of the four named jurisdictions above, it would not comply. The proposals are to be issued for consultation by the Land Transport Safety Authority (LTSA) later this year, with a likely date for implementation some time in 2002.
Other proposals by the LTSA, currently out for public consultation, will in future require all imported used vehicles to comply with frontal impact standards which have been in place in Japan since 1996 and Australia since 1997. This may have the effect, if adopted, of limiting the age of used vehicles able to be brought into the country and have a direct impact on the standards of emissions control technology fitted to those vehicles.
3.3.1 Emissions Control Capability of the New Zealand Fleet
New Zealand has never, apart from a few exceptions, manufactured its own vehicles. All vehicles entering the fleet have generally been designed for markets with established emissions regulations. However, the majority of Japanese vehicles that were assembled in New Zealand up until production ceased in 1998 were equipped to an "export specification" in terms of their emissions control equipment. The requirements of this specification were minimal, and would generally have been well below that required in their country of origin, or many other markets at the time. New Completely Built Up (CBU) vehicles brought into New Zealand up until 1997 will also have been manufactured to a range of emission standards, depending on their intended market.
The net effect is that the "potential" emissions control capability of the New Zealand fleet has lagged significantly behind many other countries, including Australia, which has had vehicle emission standards of some sort in place since the mid 1970s. This has partly been redressed by the large number of second hand cars imported in recent years.
The concept of "potential" capability is important; just because a vehicle is fitted with a catalytic converter on its exhaust, does not mean that it is actually working effectively. Emission standards set durability requirements (how long, in kilometres or years, the vehicle should continue to be capable of meeting those standards). Typically these may be 80,000 km or 5 years. Control equipment on the majority of imported second-hand vehicles is probably well past the durability requirements of the emission standards it was originally certified to. Maintenance of such equipment tends not to be a big priority when there is no monitoring of its performance or mandatory requirement for its effectiveness. However, even poorly functioning emissions control equipment is generally a lot more effective than none at all. On the other hand, anecdotal evidence also suggests that in many cases, this equipment has been removed from vehicles rather than maintained.
A more detailed discussion of vehicle emission standards is given in the Stage 1 VFECs report (MOT, 1997) and the Australian review of fuel quality (EA, 2000a), as well as in Section 5.
3.3.2 Engine and Emission Control Technology
For the purpose of the development of the VFEM, the fleet was categorised according to the type of engine and emissions control technology fitted. Four main configurations were used for petrol and diesel vehicles. This was not a precise analysis, relying heavily on judgement, as this type of data is not collected. The following has been drawn from the VFEM and represents the best estimate of fleet capability for the current year and projections for 2006. The four vehicle technology stages are summarised in Table 3.7 for petrol and diesel vehicles respectively. The estimated numbers of vehicles in each category are presented in Figure 3.7.
Table 3.7: New Zealand Vehicle Fleet Technology Stages
| Technology Stage | Petrol Vehicles | Diesel vehicles |
|---|
| 1 | Carburettor, no catalyst | Naturally aspirated, older technology |
| 2 | Fuel injection, no catalyst | Mechanical fuel injection control, turbocharging; no exhaust after-treatment |
| 3 | Carburettor, oxidation catalyst | After-treatment: oxidation catalyst, simple exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) |
| 4 | Fuel injection, 3-way catalyst | Advanced electronic control/high pressure fuel injection, full exhaust after-treatment |
Figure 3.7 : Vehicle Technology Stages - Estimated Numbers by Vehicle Type for 2001 and 2006
The data indicate that while emissions control technology in the New Zealand vehicle fleet will see an improvement over time, this change is relatively slow and depends very much on the influences that affect vehicle turnover in New Zealand. As a general rule, model cycles for cars (that is the number of years between new models being introduced) tend to be shorter than for heavy commercial vehicles so that new light vehicle technology will tend to become available more quickly.
While the VFECS work has considered the environmental performance of the vehicle fleet over the longer term, any changes to the Regulations need to also consider the shorter term impact on vehicle driveability as well. For example, petrol engines with carburettors are much more sensitive to changes in fuel volatility than fuel injected engines. Future controls on volatility parameters need to take into account that even in 4 years time, a significant proportion of the petrol vehicle fleet will still have carburettors. This is discussed in more detail in Section 7.1.3.
3.4 Non-Road Users of Petrol and Diesel
3.4.1 Marine
In the year ended December 2000, the fishing industry used around 115,000 tonnes of diesel and 600 tonnes of petrol. While in the past there has been a marine grade of diesel available in New Zealand, this was withdrawn in 1998 and now just one grade of diesel is currently available for both land and marine use. While some of the larger fishing vessels may use light fuel oil, figures from the Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) indicate that in 2000 there were approximately 1300 smaller fishing vessels (under 24m), most of which are likely to be diesel users. The recent problems with diesel filterability indicate just how critical fuel quality is to marine safety, particularly for smaller craft.
Commercial operators will generally bunker diesel via pipelines, road tankers or their own storage facilities. Petrol and diesel dispensers are available at many ports and marinas and this will be the refuelling point for most larger pleasure craft (launches, yachts etc). The estimated total diesel consumption for marine use in 1997 was around 240,000 tonnes (MSA, 1998).
Pleasure vessels are not usually registered so their numbers are not accurately known, but figures from the MSA indicate there may currently be around 260,000 such vessels. Many are small users, particularly where the primary mode of power is sail. Fuel for many petrol driven marine engines such as those in runabouts (which use portable tanks) and "jet skis" may be purchased through petrol stations so it is difficult to accurately estimate the quantities used.
MSA estimates of the size of the pleasure craft fleet in 2001 are as follows:
| Trailer yachts and keelers | 42,000 |
| Motor launches | 18,000 |
| Trailer based motorboats | 105,000 |
| Personal water craft (commonly called jet skis) | 13,000 |
3.4.2 Other Users - Commercial
The pie charts in Section 3.1 show the breakdown of petrol and diesel use in New Zealand. "Internal use" generally covers domestic transport. "Other uses" includes wholesaling and retailing operations, telecommunications, defence and local government.
Many commercial operators will have their own storage and dispensing facilities for refuelling vehicles. Diesel is used for stationary engines such as small boilers and generators as well as heavy machinery such as earthmoving equipment and mobile cranes.
3.4.3 Other Users - Retail
Fuel for garden maintenance equipment is generally bought through service stations. This equipment includes chainsaws, lawnmowers and weedeaters. No figures are readily available but in aggregate maintenance probably represents a very small percentage of the total volume of petrol sold, but a very large number of individual users (many homes have a motor-mower). Recent Canadian studies suggest that two-stroke motors used for lawnmowers, chainsaws and small marine outboards are significant sources of exhaust emissions.
3.4.4 Agricultural Use
Agricultural use accounted for around 120,000 tonnes of diesel and 26,000 tonnes of petrol in 2000. As shown in Figures 3.4 and 3.5, these levels equate to around 6% of New Zealand's total diesel consumption and 1% of total petrol consumption. These figures are based on energy consumption data supplied to MED and do not include fuel purchased through retail outlets.
Figures presented in Table 3.3 show that in 1999 there were around 25,000 tractors, 1500 ATVs and 1100 other agricultural machines on the New Zealand vehicle registry. As previously noted, a large number of agricultural vehicles are not registered for road use.
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