For virtually all companies, getting the public to buy more of their product is the way to success and growth but Shell, a world leader in petroleum products, is keen to help motorists reduce their fuel purchases! Yes, it’s unusual and goes against business sense but hey, oil companies make billions anyway so reduced demand is not going to hurt shareholders, right? Shell’s initiative to help promote fuel economy is in tune with these times of rising fuel costs, diminishing resources and environmental concerns.

Today, Shell Malaysia and affiliates in five other countries launches the ‘Shell FuelSave Challenge’ which will prove that it is possible to drive more economically using the right techniques and the right fuel.

Even in such conditions, not unusual today, it should still be possible to economise on fuel using certain techniques

It's not difficult to use less fuel daily and Shell will show 300 motorists how to do so

“Shell is committed to helping Malaysian drivers to save on fuel. This campaign is part of a sustained effort by Shell to demonstrate to drivers that they can save 10% or more fuel while driving,” said Dato’ Mohzani Wahab, Managing Director of Shell Malaysia Trading. “With Shell Super that has a Fuel Economy Formula and Shell FuelSave tips, it is easy for anyone to use less fuel and reduce costs. Collectively, if we all improve our fuel consumption by just 10%, around 170 billion litres of fuel can be saved each year. That’s almost twice the amount of bottled water the world drinks every year. We’ve proven it before and we are going to do it again.”

For the ‘Shell FuelSave Challenge’, 300 Malaysian drivers will be recruited and the participants will be chosen based on set criteria. The composition will be such that there will be a good mix of various kinds of drivers in various parts of the country. The exercise will be managed by an independent research agency which will also compile and audit the results.

There will be three phases for the event and in the first phase, the participants (who should normally drive at least 20,000 kms annually) will drive for 4 weeks in the manner they always drive. They will also be asked to ‘use a fuel that does not promote fuel economy’ (presumably one from another brand). Their mileage and fuel consumption for this period will be logged.

For the second phase, the participants are required to attend a ‘Shell FuelSave Challenge’ training session, specially developed by Shell, where they will learn techniques which can reduce fuel consumption while they drive. Some may be common sense tips while others may be ‘secrets’ which they never thought about.

After that session, the third and final phase will see them using whatever they learnt in their daily driving and this time, they will be required to use Shell Super which has a Fuel Economy Formula. Mileage and consumption data will be logged each week and to ensure that they keep applying the techniques, they will get tips and reminders regularly.

Data from the first and last phase will be compared and each driver will get to see the results which Shell Malaysia expects will show an improvement in fuel economy in the third phase.

According to a spokesperson from Shell Malaysia, the participants will get some form of reward and recognition but it will not be something which should influence them to drive ‘abnormally’ to achieve better results. This is important because if there is an element of competition and an attractive reward, some people may take part only because of the reward and not drive in their usual way, causing the results to not be representative of normal driving.

To know more about the ‘Shell FuelSave Challenge’ or to register your interest to participate, click here.

In conjunction with this event and to reward loyal customers, Shell Malaysia is also giving away over 1 million kilometers in a promotion between today and July 28 2008. To qualify, motorists need to purchase RM30 of fuel from a Shell station in Malaysia, or a 3-litre/4-litre pack of Shell Helix (or 5-litre pack of Shell Rimula) and complete a contest form. You can also download and print contest forms from the Shell Malaysia website.

The contest will have weekly prizes over 11 weeks and three Grand Prizes as well. The prizes must, however, be redeemed through the Bonuslink programme and should the winner not have a Bonuslink membership, he or she will be signed up immediately to receive the prize. Those who use their Shell Citibank Credit Card will also get additional benefits in the form of twice the winnings (which will be credited to their credit card account).

As petrol prices are government-controlled, the government does not allow the companies to have competitive promotional activities to draw more customers as it would be unhealthy. This policy has been in force for decades but there are also guidelines which permit certain types of activities and Dato’ Mohzani said Shell Malaysia always abides by the guidelines.