Maruti Aims To Make All Its New Cars E20 Compliant Well Ahead Of The Government Deadline

Maruti Suzuki is planning to make all its cars compliant with E20 fuel by April 2023, well ahead of the government’s 2025 deadline. This was revealed by Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director of  Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki India, recently.  

E20 is a blend of 80 percent petrol and 20 percent ethanol. Ethanol is added to petrol with the aim to reduce carbon emissions. However, it can be relatively more corrosive (than regular petrol) and to ensure that an engine’s reliability is not hampered, automakers will have to redesign or modify some components in the engine, and make changes in the fuel delivery and exhaust system, resulting in minor cost increments. 

The amount of ethanol in India’s petrol has been rising steadily since 2014. Currently, your local petrol pump is likely to serve fuel with an ethanol content between 5 to 10 percent. The amount of ethanol added to petrol retailed across India petrol has been rising steadily since 2014. Currently, your local petrol pump is likely to serve the fuel with an ethanol content between 5 and 10 per cent. 

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Ethanol could technically be considered a renewable fuel, since it is derived from crops such as sugarcane and maize. The idea is that  crops absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thus offsetting the carbon dioxide that’s produced when the fuel is consumed by an internal combustion engine.  

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The Union government has set the year 2025 as the deadline for the country to switch to E20 fuel. Apart from making cars that can run on richer ethanol fuel blend, Maruti is looking at mild-hybrid and, in the future, electric vehicles too. 

For the average consumer, E20 fuel isn’t likely to have a noticeable impact on how a new car performs or drives. Owners of older cars, however, could run into issues like premature wear in some small parts within the fuel system or in the engine. But the impact is expected to be minimal.

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