In 2022, a staggering 17,817,281 petrol vehicles were registered in India. Among the new car buyers that year was Shabih Haider, a Delhi-based executive working for an elevator company, who purchased a brand-new red Volkswagen Taigun in October.
Less than three years into owning the car, Haider has recently been feeling anxious about its future, now that E20 petrol is being rolled out across the country. His concern deepened when he referred to the car manual, which clearly states: "Use only unleaded petrol containing a maximum of 10 percent bioethanol (E10) or a maximum of 5 percent bioethanol (E5)." The same warning was also printed on the fuel cap of his vehicle.
When Haider spoke to the service centre, his service advisor told him they are yet to get any advisory from the brand.
What’s the Real Issue?
The story begins on 8 June 2018, when the Government of India issued a Gazette outlining a roadmap to reduce the country’s dependency on imported oil and gas. The plan proposed a five-pronged strategy: increasing domestic production, adopting biofuels and renewable energy, enforcing energy efficiency norms, improving refinery processes, and promoting demand substitution.
As part of this roadmap, the government aimed to introduce E10 petrol—fuel containing a 10 percent ethanol blend—by 2022. According to official claims, this target was achieved by June 2022. Building on this, the roadmap set a target for 2030: the nationwide adoption of E20 petrol, which contains a 20 percent ethanol blend.
However, in 2022, the government amended this target through another Gazette notification, revising the timeline to 2025–26 for the full rollout of E20 fuel.
The problem arose when the E20 blending process was initiated before this timeline. In 2021, Niti Aayog, along with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in its 'Report of Expert Committee' recommended that 'E20 material compliant and E10 engine tuned vehicles may be rolled out all across the country from April 2023.'
The report further said that 'vehicles with E20 tuned engines can be rolled out all across the country from April 2025.'
By April 2023, however, E10-compatible vehicles continued to be sold and registered across the country. According to official data—excluding Telangana and Lakshadweep, where records were not yet digitised till 2023—more than 50 million petrol vehicles were registered in India between 2020 and 2022.
In India, the registration of petrol vehicles, in most states, expires after 15 years. Experts warn that all vehicles registered since 2010 fall into a potentially vulnerable category, meaning E20 fuel could affect their performance, longevity, and maintenance.
With over a decade's worth of vehicles on the road, this raises concerns for millions of vehicle owners who purchased their vehicles when E10—or even lower ethanol blend, ie, E5—were the norm.
This mismatch between fuel rollout and vehicle readiness is where concerns and potential complications for car owners like Haider begin.
"My car hasn’t even completed three years yet…If the government wanted to increase the ethanol blending, it should have done so in a staged and gradual manner…Forcing E20 fuel into my E10-compatible car feels like coercion. If my car gets damaged, who will take responsibility?"Shabih Haider, 2022 Taigun Owner
Technical Challenges of E20 Petrol
While ethanol and petrol are two different compounds, both release carbon dioxide and water upon combustion. However, the energy released per unit differs significantly between the two. Petrol releases between 44–46 MJ/kg (megajoules per kilogram), whereas ethanol releases only 26–30 MJ/kg, which is about 30–40 percent less than petrol.
Explaining the impact on vehicles to The Quint, Sundardeep Singh, an automobile expert based in Ludhiana, said, “In older, non-compliant cars, components such as the fuel pump, rubber parts in the fuel line, gaskets, and fuel injectors will wear out faster.”
He added, “The problem may not be immediate but will develop gradually, with repair costs varying by brand. This is primarily because ethanol is corrosive, leading to faster rusting and degradation in non-compliant cars that were not designed to handle E20 fuel.”
The Question Of Fuel Efficiency
In the Indian automobile market, which is largely driven by the middle class, mileage still remains one of the key factors in choosing a vehicle. However, fuel efficiency has increasingly come under question.
The 2021 report by NITI Aayog and the Petroleum Ministry states that a study was conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), and Indian Oil Corporation to examine the suitability of a 20 percent ethanol–gasoline blend (E20) in in-use vehicles.
The report suggests that ‘fuel economy decreased up to 6 percent (depending on the vehicle type) on an average basis.’
However, both experts and owners—who had already warned that E20 could affect non-compatible vehicles—remain unconvinced by official figures. Many point out that ARAI’s data often fails to match real-world conditions, noting that mileage figures claimed in controlled tests rarely reflect actual performance on Indian roads.
This gap between laboratory claims and real-world experience has fueled skepticism and concern among millions of vehicle owners facing the E20 rollout.
Explaining this point, Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, automobile expert and Editor-in-Chief at Acko Drive, told The Quint: "Even brand-new vehicles launched in the market base their fuel efficiency claims on ARAI tests, but these numbers rarely reflect real-world scenarios—and in most cases, they don’t. Over the years, consumers have grudgingly accepted this gap. Some of that scepticism is resurfacing now, especially with the reported drops in efficiency due to E20. Naturally, people are questioning the figures."
"Then there’s the second aspect: every driver's experience with performance and mileage is different, influenced by multiple factors. Pollution levels, engine cleanliness, fuel quality across different cities, driving style, and wear and tear over the years—all of these contribute to inconsistencies in real-world fuel efficiency. This is precisely why testing agencies exist: to establish a baseline average for comparison."Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-in-Chief, Acko Drive
Diving into the technical aspect of the fuel efficiency debate, Patankar further said, “Whether test condition data is ideal enough to be accepted or not remains debatable and I accept that real-world data will never exactly match testing data. For instance, if I drive a 10-year-old car and notice a five percent drop in mileage, I probably won’t speak up. Those reporting 10–12 percent drops also don’t represent the entire population. This is where the gap between reported figures and lived reality becomes apparent.”
Patankar said that although a drop in efficiency is expected, the precise effect of E20 fuel on everyday vehicle performance is still uncertain, as there isn’t enough real-world data yet.
The Issue Of Pricing the Fuel
There is a growing unease among vehicle owners who are now facing the dual challenge of rising fuel prices and ethanol blending. While the government talks about energy independence, vehicle owners say this is coming at their financial and mechanical cost, which they hadn’t anticipated.
Haider voiced the frustration felt by many car owners: “Since 2018, the government has steadily increased ethanol blending in petrol—from 5 percent to 10 percent, and now to 20 percent. We’re no longer getting pure petrol, and prices have skyrocketed—from an average of Rs 72.84 per litre back then to over Rs 94 today, an increase of more than 30 percent."
“In 2018, crude oil cost $71.34 per barrel; today, it’s around $68.18. Even with 20 percent ethanol in the mix, petrol prices remain so high. Around 50-60 percent of petrol prices carry taxes in them, and now that same fuel is mixed with 20 percent ethanol. As a consumer, I feel cheated.”Shabih Haider, 2022 Taigun Owner
Patankar sheds light on the disconnect between policy and perception: while oil bills for the exchequer matter at the national level, for everyday consumers, they barely register—which helps explain the outcry over E20.
Explaining how this could have been handled better, Patankar said, "The positive impact of E20 isn’t being reflected in our fuel bills. 20 percent blending means 20 percent ethanol, which has a very different per-litre cost compared to petrol. If the per-litre price of the blended fuel had actually come down, there would have been a general sense of relief among consumers."
Impact on the Used Vehicle Market
India’s used vehicle market is estimated to be around $36 billion, and experts believe it will also take a hit, as most vehicles in this segment are slightly older and mostly E10 or E5 compliant.
The market was booming over the years because it gave affordability to the middle-class indian who couldn’t afford a new car.
72-year-old Tejinder Singh, a retired CSR professional, says that people like him, who no longer have a steady income after retirement, and those from the lower middle class who once relied on pre-owned cars, have had their dreams stolen.
“In 2017, I bought a 7–8-year-old Maruti Suzuki SX4 because it made more financial sense for me after retirement. But I eventually had to let it go in a distress sale once its registration expired in 2024. Now, if I think of buying another 7–8-year-old used car, I can’t — because they won’t be E20 compatible.”Tejinder Singh, Retired CSR Professional
Haris Ghani, a techie from Bangalore who bought a 2019 Kia Seltos last month, echoed the same sentiment. “I am now worried about the health of my car. Even my car manual says, ‘Do not use gasohol containing more than 10 percent ethanol. It may cause drivability problems and damage to the fuel system, engine control system and emission control system," he said.
Ghani also pointed out that his car manual clearly states that any damage or drivability issues caused by using fuel with more than 10 percent ethanol may not be covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
The Quint also reached out to second-hand car dealers in Delhi. They admitted they are under stress and are still trying to find a solution to the problem. As for sales data, they said the real picture will only emerge in the next quarter, which they fear might see a drop in sales.
Environmental 'Benefits' of E20
The ethanol blending, apart from reducing energy dependency on other countries, the government says, is a step towards cleaner energy.
Environmentalists call this move a positive step, but they believe it’s important to look at how the plan and programme will progress from here, especially through the lens of sustainability.
Raghu Murtugudde, an environmentalist and a Visiting Professor at IITB and Emeritus Professor at University of Maryland, while speaking to The Quint, said, "Having energy security is a good goal, but it cannot come at the cost of food and water security. If we scale up E20, how will it compete for water, land, and food resources? How exactly will ethanol be produced? Will we use existing farmlands that are already growing other crops, create new farmlands, or find a way to use degraded land? These are questions that need answers. Typically, a full life-cycle analysis would be required to understand the trade-offs and overall impact."
From a sustainability perspective, another question arises: if fuel efficiency drops due to blending, people will need to refuel more often. Does that actually reduce overall petrol consumption? We don’t have the data yet, but logic suggests that if everyone ends up using more fuel, the gains from blending could be offset.
Patankar suggests, "Instead of reducing efficiency, stricter efficiency standards for new vehicles could have been a better way to help the national exchequer."
Until we have engineering data showing how vehicles perform in the real world, Murtugudde says, "the discussion is mostly about economics, incentives, and who actually benefits from the transition to E20. If poor people with older or non-compatible vehicles—like Uber and Ola drivers—are affected, then this would need better planning. It’s not wrong to start such a plan, but all the analysis needs to be done. Since this is a major transition, understanding who benefits, who loses, and who needs support is far more important.”
Was E20 Rolled Out Too Soon?
Looking at the country’s vehicle registration policy, the original E20 rollout deadline of 2030—or even 2033—appears far more reasonable.
The National Policy on Biofuels, announced in 2018, laid out a 12-year roadmap for introducing E20 petrol. Had automobile manufacturers been advised that year to make vehicles E20-compatible, vehicles bought in 2018 would reach their 15-year registration expiry around 2033.
This would have allowed older vehicles to phase out gradually, while E10 and E20 fuels could have been rolled out in a more coordinated and manageable manner.
Sundardeep Singh says this approach can still be adopted. "Until non-compatible vehicles sold up to 2023 are phased out by 2038, the government should provide vehicle owners with options for all three types of fuel—E5, E10, and E20," Singh said.
To owners of E20 non-compatible vehicles, Patankar suggests: “Consumers need to be very regular with their service cycles. In fact, they should plan slightly shorter service intervals to ensure the vehicle is properly checked. Get your cars inspected thoroughly and pay attention to parts that may need repair or replacement before any major damage occurs. But yes, this could mean spending more on service and repairs.”