Cars In India To Be Fully E20 Compliant From 2025

Published December 13, 2022
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Several two-wheeler and four-wheeler makers have demonstrated their flex-fuel tech, with Maruti adding that it will introduce its first flex-fuel model in 2025

Carmakers will have to make their lineups E20-ready by 2023.
The deadline to make all cars fully E20 compliant is 2025.
E20 is a fuel with 20 per cent ethanol blended with 80 per cent petrol.
Maruti will introduce its first flex-fuel vehicle in 2025.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has held a technology demonstration of engines compatible with ethanol-blended E20 fuel. As before, the deadline for making cars E20-ready and fully compliant stands at 2023 and 2025, respectively.

Maruti and several two-wheeler makers such as Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor and Yamaha, exhibited their flex-fuel tech on December 12 at the ‘Ethanol Adoption - Flex Fuel Vehicles in India’ exhibition at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

“Ethanol adoption, apart from leading to GHG emission reductions, will also help the country reduce its import dependence and thus saving precious foreign exchange, which is aligned with SIAM’s vision of Building the Nation Responsibly.” – Vinod Aggarwal, President of SIAM and MD and CEO of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles.

E20 fuel is a blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol. Ethanol-blended fuel is already commonly available throughout India, but the government wants to increase the amount of ethanol in fuel from the existing 5 per cent to 20 per cent to reduce production costs and dependence on other countries for crude oil to some extent. In addition, it also wants to promote flex-fuel vehicles.

Maruti’s Wagon R-based flex-fuel prototype was one such vehicle demonstrated at the expo, compatible with ethanol blends from 20 per cent (E20) to 85 per cent (E85). It has several modifications to the engine and fueling system to work seamlessly with different concentrations of ethanol and petrol. Maruti was also quick to add that it will introduce its first flex-fuel-powered car in 2025.

“The fuel import costs of India will be reduced by a huge margin, thus saving foreign exchange fund and building strategic advantage of being Atmanirbhar. The sugar manufacturers of India who have played an important part in the current ethanol milestones of the nation will reap similar economic benefits working towards sustainability together.” – Nitin Gadkari, Union Transport Minister

For you, the consumer, the cost of making vehicles E20-compatible will lead to a slight inflation in prices. However, E20 fuel should be relatively more cost-effective to produce, and could be relatively more affordable than petrol is currently.