Hyundai Oilbank Launches Korea's First Ultra-Premium Gasoline 'UltraGen'

Refueling Available at 15 Nationwide Directly Managed Gas Stations
Sales to Expand to 30 Locations by January Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hyundai Oilbank has launched the country's first ultra-premium gasoline with an octane rating of 102 or higher, targeting the premium gasoline market.

Hyundai Oilbank announced on the 14th that it has launched the ultra-premium gasoline "Ultra Kazen." "Ultra Kazen" can be refueled at 15 representative company-operated gas stations nationwide. Hyundai Oilbank plans to expand the number of gas stations handling ultra-premium gasoline to 30 by January next year.

The octane rating refers to the resistance to abnormal combustion phenomena (knocking) caused by incomplete combustion of gasoline. The higher the octane rating, the better the combustion without causing abnormal explosions, thus it is evaluated as premium gasoline. The "Ultra Kazen" launched by Hyundai Oilbank this time has an octane rating of 102 RON (Research Octane Number), which is the highest level in Korea. Currently, the octane rating of regular gasoline from domestic refiners is around 91-93, and premium gasoline is around 99-100.

According to the Korea National Oil Corporation, the demand for premium gasoline has shown a high growth rate, increasing by an average of more than 16% annually since 2015. The trend of increasing imported cars and the recent trend of premiumization and enlargement of newly released vehicles are expected to continuously increase the demand for premium gasoline. In particular, a culture of sharing information about gas stations with higher octane ratings is emerging mainly through online communities, expanding the demand for "high-end" gasoline products. In fact, the German refiner Aral sells a product with an octane rating of around 102 under the brand name "Ultimate."

Hyundai Oilbank's strategy is to target the premium gasoline market with a two-track approach by launching "Ultra Kazen" alongside its existing premium gasoline brand "Kazen." Last year, Hyundai Oilbank renewed and launched the premium gasoline brand "Kazen" and increased brand awareness by supplying it as the official fuel for Korea's largest racing competition, "Superrace."

Additionally, based on the largest company-operated network in Korea, Hyundai Oilbank has significantly increased the number of gas stations handling premium gasoline from 144 at the end of 2019 to 354 as of July this year, expanding its market share. This year, Hyundai Oilbank's premium gasoline sales reached 1,585 barrels per day, recording a 23% market share, ranking second in the domestic market. Compared to 316 barrels per day and a 9% market share in 2019, sales volume has increased about fivefold and market share more than doubled in a short period.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.