Will India Move Beyond E20 Petrol Soon? Here's Why Car Owners Are Concerned

With E20 petrol now widely available, attention is turning to the possibility of higher ethanol blends such as E25 and E30, prompting fresh concerns among car buyers over vehicle compatibility.

For now officials maintain that a higher blend will only be possible once stake holders are consulted along with proper research plus testing.

Source : Somnath Chatterjee

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• E20 fuel causes car buyers concern; mileage drops.
• Older cars face issues; higher blends need engine changes.
• Higher blends require research; Flex Fuel is separate path.

E20 petrol is causing a lot of controversy and also an increasing worry amongst car buyers with lots of social media uproar. Car buyers are getting uneasy about the future beyond E20 and current owners of older cars too are worried for increasing wear and tear plus the mileage drop.

For cars manufactured before 2023, the issues are bigger since these cars were not ready for this fuel but some carmakers have tailormade their cars for higher ethanol blend beyond E10. Hence even older car owners might not have to worry but social media and talks about lowering mileage remain plus concerns.

Carmakers have backed E20 which India has implemented much before it's 2030 target. While cars bought now have no issues in terms of running on E20 fuel, the issue of lower fuel efficiency still stands with fuel economy seeing a drop.

What Happens Beyond E20?

However a lot of controversy surrounds the future with going beyond E20 which could create hurdles namely for carmakers too along with current car owners. While E20 will work fine, higher blends like E30 or E25 will require substantial changes to the engine and running current cars on E30 won't be possible.

While the move to E20 from E10 has been quick, an even higher blend for now will require a drastic change. For now officials maintain that a higher blend will only be possible once stake holders are consulted along with proper research plus testing.

Flex Fuel Still a Separate Path

For now, E20 is here to stay and higher blends we feel are sometime away while of course along with Flex fuel cars which have a completely different set of engine components. For now E20 and Flex fuel will be there with seperate flex fuel cars coming up in the years to come once flex fuel becomes more popular.