India's E20 petrol rollout sparks driver revolt

• Drivers report lower mileage, engine wear
• Government says ethanol-petrol mix is safe
• Consumers demand choice at fuel stations

NEW DELHI - As India puts more of the emissions-cutting biofuel ethanol in its petrol, consumers complain it damages their engines.

The government's fast-expanding ethanol programme aims to cut costly oil imports by blending petrol with ethanol, a biofuel derived from agricultural produce or organic waste that burns more cleanly than traditional gasoline.

India last month hit its target of reaching a 20% ethanol mix in petrol, known as E20 petrol, five years ahead of schedule.

But car reviewer Amit Khare, who reaches 15 million people every month across social media platforms, including YouTube, Meta and Instagram, criticised the fuel.

"Ethanol is a dry and corrosive fuel," Khare told Context.

"It can damage several parts involved in supplying fuel to the engines," he said. "Neither the government nor the petrol pumps in the country are informing users about all these issues ... Consumers are being kept in dark."

Thousands of worried drivers shared their fears in comments on a video he posted on the issue late last month.

Consumers are demanding the right to choose what they put in their cars, filling social media with complaints of lower fuel efficiency, damage to older engines and the ensuing costly repairs.

Punjab-based car critic Sunderdeep Singh said the government should make it mandatory for petrol stations to sell different blends and clearly colour-code them.

"Most consumers do not know how much ethanol is mixed in the petrol they are buying," he told Context.

Mileage dip

The government said on Monday concerns over E20 fuel were unfounded. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said the criticism lacked "technical foundation" and said its own reports found no major engine damage or performance loss.

The government admitted mileage might dip slightly, by between 1% and 2% in newer cars and by up to 6% in older ones, but said this could be managed with routine servicing.

Vehicle owners responded swiftly, sharing mileage numbers online and accusing the government of hiding the truth.

Khare said he tested an E20-compliant car for two months and saw a mileage drop of between 5% and 6%.

There is no publicly available data on how many of the millions of cars and motorbikes sold before 2023 are compliant with E20 fuel, but Khare estimates most of them are not.

India's biofuel drive

Biofuels are a key part of the Indian government's plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the cost of importing oil.

The policy saved India about 1.06 trillion rupees ($12.09 billion) in crude oil import costs between 2014 and 2024, according to government data, and helped to avoid 54.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in the same decade.

This is roughly the equivalent of the emissions from 12 million gasoline-powered cars a year, according to a calculator from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.: 

But the gains come with trade-offs. India has ramped up ethanol production by diverting crops like sugarcane, maize and rice to make fuel, reducing the availability of grains for people and cattle, and shifting land away from food production.

Engine warnings

Two of India's largest motorcycle and scooter makers Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor, have also issued advisories about ethanol and said their vehicles made before 2023 require modifications to the fuel system to run efficiently on E20.

Shell India warned customers that they bear the risk of engine damage or warranty loss from E20 fuel.

"It is unfair of the government to push us to use higher ethanol blends when our cars are not ready," said Bangalore-based car-owner Antony Mathew.

"The least the government can do, while charging over 30% tax on a new petrol car, is to ensure compatible fuel is available in the market."

($1 = 87.7570 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Bhasker Tripathi; Editing by Jack Graham and Jon Hemming.)