Ethanol-blended fuel has been in the spotlight long before the government mandated its usage. Vehicle owners have flagged mileage drops and social media is full of claims about other vehicle parts damage. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has now responded directly to the claims and admitted that mileage does fall as ethanol content rises. But he called the damage claims circulating on social media as part of a “concerted false narrative”.
In a conversation with The Indian Express, Gadkari defended the government’s ethanol push and outlined a bigger plan that includes flex-fuel cars, methanol buses and diesel alternatives.
Explaining the reason behind the drop in mileage, Gadkari said it is a result of a chemical change. “Look, there are a couple of things: the first is the difference in calorific value between ethanol and petrol – which is a fact. But mileage also depends on driving conditions, especially in cities such as Delhi or Mumbai, where vehicles stay in lower gears due to driving conditions… According to the ARAI report, for vehicles specifically built with flex-fuel engines, there is no problem with mileage efficiency. That is why we are also working on (pushing) flex-engine technology,” he told Express.
“In stop-and-go traffic from Delhi to Gurgaon, you are constantly braking. Your speed barely goes above 40-50 (kilometres per hour) before you hit a red light. However, if you drive at a continuous speed for 100 km (per hour), you may see some difference in value,” the minister further said.
But he pushed back hard on damage claims tied to E20 fuel. “Show me a single car that has suffered damage because of E20 fuel. What is being circulated on social media is part of a concerted false narrative,” he said.
Testing came before the rollout
Gadkari noted that E20 was rolled out nationwide last year only after clearances from multiple rounds of testing by the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and vehicle manufacturers themselves. Where minor wear has shown up in some older cars, manufacturers have already been directed to replace the affected parts free of cost during routine servicing.
“For older cars going for servicing, the washers used to be made of metal. Now they are (made of) rubber. During servicing, we have instructed vehicle manufacturers to replace those washers at no extra cost for the consumer. In my knowledge, no cars have broken down. When it comes to performance, ethanol is proven to be better; it has much better anti-knocking properties and a high octane number…,” he added.
Nearly a dozen automakers are building flex-fuel models now. The list includes Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hyundai, Toyota Kirloskar and Maruti Suzuki.
Methanol and iso-butanol vehicles
Framing the push in the context of recent instability in West Asia, Gadkari said the crisis has shown the need to explore every alternative to imported fossil fuels. He cited a Karnataka pilot in which Ashok Leyland ran 25 buses on a 15% methanol-diesel blend for three months with the state transport corporation. The company developed a dedicated methanol engine for the same. According to Gadkari, Assam Petro-Chemicals already produces 700 tonnes of methanol a day at Rs 20-22 per litre, against diesel prices of around Rs 110.
He also flagged methanol’s potential for marine use in the North East and iso-butanol, derived from ethanol, as a possible diesel blend for tractors, harvesters and construction equipment. Ethanol itself cannot be blended directly into diesel engines.
“If we use iso-butanol for tractors, agricultural equipment, harvesters, and construction equipment, our diesel imports will end. Generator sets can run on CNG, ethanol, methanol, or iso-butanol—all of which are indigenous Indian fuels. We do not want foreign fuel or imports, as we currently import Rs 2 lakh crore of fossil fuels, and much of the pollution is caused by them. Construction equipment can also be made electric,” Gadkari told Indian Express.