Chevron launches diesel oil promising ‘big savings’
CALTEX brand marketer Chevron last week unveiled its latest premium diesel engine oil product that promises “big savings” for commercial businesses using diesel-powered heavy machines. The Caltex Delo 400 MGX SAE 15W-40 boasts a “revolutionary formulation [that] constitutes a higher specification and is specially designed to comply with Philippine market requirements,” the company said in a news release.
Speaking exclusively to BusinessWorld before the product launch ceremony in Makati City, Chevron area business manager for finished lubricants in the Philippines and Vietnam Joseph Bronfman averred; “This is a product upgrade for us. We’re moving into the CJ4 API rating with the Delo 400 MGX. It has increased soot protection, enhanced oxidation stability, and increased wear- and- tear protection for your engine, which allows for extended drain intervals up to 80,000 kilometers.”
The CJ- 4 rating was introduced in 2006 by the American Petroleum Institute “for highspeed, four-stroke engines designed to meet 2007 model year on- highway exhaust emission standards. CJ- 4 oils are compounded for use in all applications with diesel fuels ranging in sulfur content up to 500ppm [0.05% by weight],” reported the agency Web site.
Meanwhile, Chevron shared that the Delo 400 MGX, which supplants the Delo 400 Multigrade, provides benefits in three ways. First, it deducts from operating costs as the oil offers “exceptional soot dispersancy and wear control” for maximum protection and, consequently, greater vehicle/equipment uptime. It also extends the diesel particulate filter life and, finally, helps to manage inventory costs because it is suitable for use in “four-stroke gasoline and naturally aspirated, turbocharged and modern electronically controlled/ low emission diesel engines requiring SAE 15W-40 heavy duty motor oil.” Add to this the aforementioned extended utility of the oil (up from the usual 60,000 kilometers between changes), and the Delo 400 MGX makes a compelling case for itself.
Mr. Bronfman stressed, “This product is geared for on- and off- highway applications. Diesel engines in fleet, construction, truck, and bus — [engines] which have proven usage here in the Philippines. They operate under different conditions [compared to] passenger or regular consumer cars. These exhibit high heat and demand high durability and high- filtration [ qualities]. Delo MGX is the product that can address all those needs.”
The flexibility of this new oil might yet prove its most compelling value proposition. Continued the Chevron executive; “We’re very conscious about what our customers have in terms of their fleet, and recognize that they go from old to new. That’s the good thing about this product. It works very well on old engines, it works very well on new engines — addressing various needs of sulfur content in the fuel. It can work in both high- and low-sulfur fuel applications. Luckily in the Philippines we have Euro4 [fuel emissions] standards, about 50ppm [ parts per million], so most customers have standard fuel in their engines. [That said] from old to new, this product provides the big savings.”
Mr. Bronfman insisted that Caltex Philippines, which has been operating in the country for over 90 years, with more than 700 stations, has “in the last five years made a step change within the market — introducing new products, understanding the needs of the Filipino consumer and end-use customer. We’re really targeting new products, new promotions and new activities to develop our brand, but more so to develop value for the consumer and the B2B customers that we have.”
The public can also expect additional product launches in 2017. “This is just one of many,” Mr. Bronfman underscored.