E20 Petrol Can Cut Vehicle Mileage By Up To 6%, Nitin Gadkari Tells Parliament

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has confirmed that mileage of cars and two-wheelers can drop by 2 to 6 per cent when running on E20 petrol, depending on a vehicle's category and vintage. Gadkari shared the assessment in a written reply to the Lok Sabha yesterday (July 30), addressing months of public concern over how the 20 per cent ethanol blend affects everyday fuel efficiency.

However, that drop in mileage isn't the whole picture as per the Minister. Durability tests run on a dynamometer, backed by on-road vehicle trials, have not turned up any failures linked to E20. Gadkari also pointed to gains elsewhere with E20 blended fuel which he stated sharpens acceleration and cuts carbon emissions by roughly 30 per cent compared to E10 petrol.

Image Source: PTI

These details with regards to E20 blended fuel were the results of a joint study by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). The study tested BS-III, BS-IV and BS-VI two-wheelers and four-wheelers that were originally built to run on E10 fuel. The study combined standard certification testing with protocols worked out alongside vehicle manufacturers.

E15-plus petrol has been sold for more than three and a half years, while E19-E20 fuel has been in circulation for over two and a half years, Gadkari told the Lok Sabha. In that time, more than 20 crore two-wheelers and over 3 crore petrol cars have run on these blends, and the government says it has found no verified evidence of widespread engine failure or breakdown caused by ethanol blending across that base.

Service data from automotive manufacturers also backs this up, showing no abnormal corrosion, wear or reduction in vehicle life caused by E20 petrol. Carmakers and two-wheeler manufacturers continue to honour warranty obligations on vehicles running the blend, which Gadkari cited as further confidence in the safety and reliability of E20 petrol.

The rollout itself goes back further than the current debate suggests. India's ethanol blended petrol programme started as a pilot in 2001, followed by the introduction of E5 fuel in 2006. Blending levels were still only around 1.53 per cent as of 2013-14, before being scaled up in phases as fuel suppliers up the production capacity and upgraded the distribution infrastructure and the government finally codified the framework for the blending program.

DriveSpark Thinks

The bigger story here isn't the 2-6% mileage hit thanks to the switch to E20, it's that Gadkari is finally putting a number on something manufacturers and owners have argued about for years. A government minister admitting a fuel efficiency loss on record is more candid than the usual "no compatibility issues" line trotted out whenever E20 comes up.

However, the government's response still leans heavily on the durability and emissions upside while treating the mileage drop as a footnote, and the "no verified evidence of widespread failure" language is doing a lot of work, it's not the same as saying zero failures, just that nobody's tallied them at scale.

For owners of older E10-only vehicles who've noticed a real dip at the pump, this reply confirms it wasn't in their heads. Whether 2-6% is an acceptable trade-off for the emissions and ethanol-economy gains is a fair debate, but it should be had honestly rather than being buried under acceleration and emissions talking points.