The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Ministry of Heavy Industries, and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways organized a press conference in New Delhi featuring leading experts from the energy and automobile sectors to address the E20 ethanol-blended petrol programme. The conference aimed to reassure vehicle owners that E20 fuel poses no cause for concern, emphasizing that ethanol blending has been a measured, scientifically driven, step-by-step process.
Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Executive Vice President of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, described the automotive industry as among the most strongly regulated sectors, with vehicles undergoing rigorous testing and certification by independent, globally accredited agencies. He clarified that testing protocols are internationally standardized through UNECE compliance and cannot be compromised. Gulati described ethanol as a high-performance, clean fuel with historical use since the early 1900s and even in Formula racing, noting that the decision to move to E20 was taken only after rigorous testing on older vehicles. He also clarified that recently launched E85 dispensing stations are meant exclusively for flex-fuel vehicles.
Rahul Bharti, Senior Executive Officer of Corporate Affairs at Maruti Suzuki, provided a "statement of confidence" to customers, stating that vehicles designed for E10 have been tested with E20 fuel across all parameters with no areas of concern. He reported that of the 2.84 crore cars serviced by Maruti Suzuki in FY 2025-26, more than 1.5 crore were over three years old and not E20-certified, yet no E20-related issues of corrosion, wear and tear or damage to component life were reported from the field.
On mileage impact, Bharti stated that the calorific value of E20 is lower than E10 by about 3 to 3.5 percent, resulting in a mileage reduction limited to this extent. For a car giving 20 km per litre, the impact works out to roughly 0.6 km per litre, which is significantly less than variations caused by factors such as tyre pressure, driving pattern, correct gear usage, acceleration, braking and maintenance. He noted that this minimal loss in mileage is more than compensated by better acceleration, better anti-knocking properties, and far lesser pollution compared to pure petrol. Bharti also clarified that vehicles are designed with safety factors well beyond E20 compliance and that no retrofitment kits are being offered in the market, with such solutions confined to R&D at present.
Vartika Shukla, Former Chairman and Managing Director of Engineers India Limited, stated that the ethanol blending programme was structured through deliberation with all stakeholders and is supported by scientific evidence and extensive testing by automotive manufacturers in line with global best practices. She confirmed that E20 fuel conforms to the BIS standard and BS-VI emission norms and is uniformly available across retail outlets in the country, noting that several countries have used ethanol blends for many years.
Ashutosh Varma, Chief Business Officer of Hero MotoCorp, stated that as one of the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers, the company has analyzed extensive service data and found no incidence of higher damage in vehicles running on E20 compared to earlier fuels. The panel concluded by reaffirming the industry's collective confidence in the E20 programme and its commitment to addressing consumer queries with transparency.