Hyundai To Offer Free Refueling for Hydrogen Cars
Par Completes Buyout of Tesoro Hawaii
Clark County Adds Fuel Tax Linked To Inflation
California Detailing Shop Fined $ 326,000 For Wage Violations

HYUNDAI TO OFFER FREE REFUELING FOR HYDROGEN CARS

LOS ANGELES, CA. — In a move that may change how consumers fuel their vehicles as well as which vehicles they choose to buy, Hyundai has announced that they will offer unlimited free hydrogen refueling to retail customers of their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

"As an industry, we know we have challenging targets to hit in the next few years," said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai North America, speaking at the L.A. Auto Show in November. "In California, we are all working with CARB to achieve an 80% reduction in greenhouse emissions from the 1990 baseline. That means electric vehicles. But what kind of electric vehicles?"

Krafcik went on to introduce the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell SUV vehicle which will be available at dealerships in the Southern California area in Spring 2014; the first four dealers who will have the fuel cell vehicles will be located in Anaheim, Carson, Van Nuys, and Tustin, "with additional Hyundai dealers to follow."

Customers who lease the vehicles — at a cost of $2,999 down and $499 a month for 36 months — will have access to unlimited free hydrogen refueling for their vehicles. "When we spoke to customers interested in driving a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, many wondered what the cost of hydrogen would be," said Krafcik. "To ease those concerns as we build out the hydrogen refueling network, we thought covering this cost for these early adopters in the monthly payment was the best approach."

According to Mike O'Brien, vice president of Corporate Planning for Hyundai North America, the vehicle will have a range of approximately 300 miles and can be fueled in less than 10 minutes. The company is using biowaste as stock for hydrogen production and the company has been using the Orange County Municipal Waste facility as a source for their fuel.

Honda and Toyota announced at the L.A. Auto Show that they would have hydrogen-fueled vehicles available in 2015.

"It's a logical idea for dealers to put in these fuel stations," said Jay McKeeman, government affairs director for the California Independent Oil Marketers Association. "There are not very many hydrogen stations in California and it's a chicken-and-egg sort of problem. Some oil companies have invested in prototype stations and the primary hurdle is it costs about $1.5 million just to put in one hydrogen dispenser. For many locations, that is the cost of building an entire service station. It's a huge investment for a very speculative situation. But if you've got the room and you think you might have a location people would use, somebody could be willing to take a bite out of it."

McKeeman added, "You'd have to be willing to put up with a lot of paperwork and oversight by government agencies. But if you've got the room and you're in that Beverly Hills/West L.A. area, I'd certainly have a long talk with Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda."

Hyundai said the availability of the Tucson Fuel Cell "will expand to other regions of the country consistent with the accelerating deployment of hydrogen refueling stations."

PAR COMPLETES BUYOUT OF TESORO HAWAII

HONOLULU, HI. — Par Petroleum Corporation, based in Houston, TX., has completed its purchase of Tesoro Hawaii, LLC from Tesoro Corporation. The final purchase price was $75 million in cash plus market value of net working capital and a contingent earnout payment of up to $40 million based on consolidated gross margins, making the total value of the sale approximately $400 million.

Tesoro Hawaii has been renamed Hawaii Independent Energy, LLC, which will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Par Petroleum and will be headquartered in Oahu, Hawaii.

Included in the deal were all of Tesoro's refining, retail, and distribution assets in Hawaii including the 94,000 barrel per day-capacity refinery in Kapolei; storage capacity for 2.4 million barrels of crude oil and 2.5 million barrels of refined products; five refined product terminals, 27 miles of pipelines and a single point mooring terminal, and 31 retail outlets. The service stations will continue to carry the Tesoro brand.

"We are looking forward to being a reliable and productive member of the Hawaii business community, and we have the right team to optimize this asset," commented Will Monteleone, Par Petroleum CEO, announcing the closing of the deal. "I have to recognize the employees on the Islands who we have come to know. Despite the uncertainty at the refinery over the past two years, they have maintained operational excellence and have performed at, or exceeded, industry safety metrics."

CLARK COUNTY ADDS FUEL TAX LINKED TO INFLATION

LAS VEGAS, NV. — The Clark County Board of Commissioners has approved a new ordinance that would index the fuel tax in the southern Nevada county to inflation.

The measure will become effective Jan. 1, 2014, and will last through Dec. 31, 2016, resulting in an estimated three cent price increase per gallon of gasoline per year.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada estimated the new fuel tax will cost the "average driver in southern Nevada" approximately $110 in additional costs over the three year period.

It is estimated the tax will raise up to $700 million to fund transportation projects. The majority of the monies will be spent to "enhance transportation infrastructure in Southern Nevada allowing residents, tourists and goods to travel more efficiently into and around Las Vegas," according to Tina Quigley, RTC general manager.

With the adoption of the new ordinance, Clark County joins Washoe County as the two counties in Nevada that use fuel tax indexing to fund transportation projects.

CALIFORNIA DETAILING SHOP FINED $326,000 FOR WAGE VIOLATIONS

TORRANCE, CA. — Car detailer Interior Magic of California, based here, has been ordered to pay $326,000 in fines for failure to pay minimum wage and overtime to employees.

The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a federal judicial order to pay $292,000 in back wages to employees of the detailing shop. The order stems from a Labor Department investigation that concluded the franchise made illegal deductions from worker paychecks for property damage that resulted in the workers being paid less than minimum wage.

The Department also found the franchise did not pay required overtime by improperly classifying workers as exempt instead of hourly to avoid overtime payments.

The officers of the Interior Magic franchise, Frank Halberg and Tammy Hallberg, were also ordered to pay $34,400 in penalties, claiming they "committed willful labor violations."

Originally published in the December 2013 issue of O&A Marketing News.
Copyright 2013 by KAL Publications Inc.