IOC, HPCL in octane war with super petrol for premium cars, bikes
NEW DELHI: IndianOil and HPCL have launched a high-octane war – literally – with super-premium petrol to corner the expanding niche of high-performance supercars and superbikes as competition promises to intensify with the imminent privatisation of Bharat Petroleum.
HPCL has been priming the market with soft launch of 99-octane petrol under ‘poWer 99’ brand in 21 cities since 2017, IndianOil raised the bar on Tuesday by going full-throttle with a 100-octane version under ‘XP 100’ brand.
Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said XP100 has put India in an elite group of six countries, including the US and Germany. India currently uses petrol with 91 octanes. The premium versions sold by IOC, HPCL and BPCL have engine cleaning agents as additives.
“It’s a niche market. XP 100 will not compete with normal petrol or CNG but cater to a segment at the top where a customer wants showstopper performance from their automobiles. So we will start by selling it from select outlets in 15 markets,” IOC chairman SM Vaidya told TOI.
