As E20 ethanol-blended petrol becomes the norm across the country, concerns are rising about its impact on vehicles and safety. Industry experts have sought to soothe these concerns, saying that the fuel has undergone years of testing and is safe even for vehicles made before the E20 rollout. Executives have assured consumers over the use of E20 ethanol-blended petrol, saying the fuel is safe for vehicles manufactured before the E20 mandate, has been subjected to extensive scientific testing and meets stringent quality standards. They also said the programme has helped reduce India’s dependence on crude oil imports.Speaking at a press conference, the experts said the country’s ethanol blending programme was introduced through a phased, science-based approach after extensive consultations with automakers, testing agencies and other stakeholders before being rolled out nationwide.Former engineers India Limited chairman and managing director Vartika Shukla said that the programme was the outcome of years of scientific assessment and not a sudden policy decision. “This ethanol blending in petrol has been not done overnight, it is a measured scientifically driven step-by-step process,” she said.Shukla said that ethanol blending in petrol rose from around 1.5% in 2013-14 to 20% by December 2025, enabling India to achieve its target five years ahead of schedule.She said the programme was supported by “scientific evidence, extensive testing” carried out by automotive manufacturers, the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). She added that the initiative follows practices adopted by countries including the US, Brazil, Canada and Germany, and has also contributed to lowering crude oil imports, reducing India’s vulnerability during recent geopolitical disruptions.Vikram Gulati, country head and executive vice president, corporate affairs and governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said vehicles and fuels available in India are subjected to rigorous testing and certification before reaching consumers.“Vehicles that are made available to consumers are extremely well engineered, well designed and have a very immense element of oversight through technically sound testing agencies,” he said.Describing ethanol as “a very good fuel”, Gulati said it delivers high performance while helping reduce carbon emissions.“In an era when we are facing the issue of climate change… this is a zero carbon fuel because it’s derived from plants,” he said, adding that ethanol blending also helped cushion consumers and the economy when global crude oil supplies came under pressure.Rahul Bharti, corporate affairs senior executive officer at Maruti Suzuki India, addressed concerns surrounding older vehicles that were originally designed to run on E10 fuel.“As a manufacturer, we have tested E10 cars… on E20 fuel for all parameters and we have not found anything of concern,” he said.Bharti said the company had built sufficient safety margins into vehicle design and testing to ensure there would be no issues related to wear and tear, corrosion or component life, even when pre-2023 vehicles use E20 fuel.Speaking on behalf of Hero MotoCorp, Chief Business Officer Ashutosh Verma said the company’s testing and service records from millions of two-wheelers also support the safety of E20 fuel.“We analyze crores of service data that we have, and… there is no incidence whatsoever of any higher damage with vehicles that run on E20 than the vehicles that were running on fuels prior to E20,” he said.
