Is E20 fuel damaging vehicles? Here's what Toyota, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp say

Is E20 fuel damaging vehicles? A viral social media video claiming that E20 fuel damages vehicles has been dismissed by leading automobile manufacturers and industry experts, who say the problem highlighted in the video was caused by fuel adulteration and not ethanol-blended petrol.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor issued an official statement clarifying that the Toyota Innova Hycross featured in the viral video is fully E20-compliant and has been designed, tested and certified to run on petrol containing up to 20 per cent ethanol.

According to the company, a detailed technical inspection found that the issue was caused by impurities in the fuel. It said there was no damage to any component of the vehicle or its fuel system.

Toyota's service team cleaned the vehicle's fuel tank and fuel lines before refilling it with standard E20 petrol. After the inspection and servicing, the vehicle was found to be functioning normally and was returned to the customer.

The company advised customers to refuel only at authorised and reliable petrol pumps to avoid fuel adulteration. It also urged vehicle owners to rely only on official and scientifically verified information regarding fuel compatibility and vehicle performance.

Experts say ethanol blending is scientifically backed

Industry experts stressed that ethanol blending has been introduced gradually over the years and is backed by scientific research.

Vartika Shukla, former CMD of Engineers India Limited (EIL), said ethanol blending was not implemented overnight. The ethanol content in petrol has increased steadily from 1.5 per cent in 2014-15 to the current 20 per cent.

She said E20 fuel complies with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms and has been used for years in countries such as the United States, Canada and Brazil. According to her, wider use of ethanol helps reduce carbon emissions and lowers India's dependence on crude oil imports.

Auto industry reiterates confidence in E20

Representatives from major automobile companies said E20 fuel was adopted only after extensive testing and certification.

Rahul Bharti of Maruti Suzuki said E20 fuel was approved in India after thorough evaluation and became mandatory for compatible vehicles in 2023. He added that the company had earlier tested engines on E10 fuel without any issues and has not reported any problems after the introduction of E20.

Toyota Kirloskar's Vikram Gulati said the vehicles had also been evaluated by an independent testing agency. He described ethanol as a proven fuel that has been used for years, including in Formula One cars, and said it is a zero-carbon fuel. He added that increasing ethanol blending is important for the country and also helps reduce fuel import costs.

Two-wheeler manufacturers report no major issues

Ashutosh Varma of Hero MotoCorp said the company services millions of two-wheelers across the country, but no significant technical issues related to E20 fuel have been reported so far.

What is E20 fuel?

E20 is a type of petrol made by blending 20% ethanol, which is produced from plant-based sources, with 80% regular petrol. It has been introduced across India as a standard fuel to help lower vehicle emissions, reduce the country's reliance on imported crude oil, and support farmers by creating greater demand for agricultural products used to produce ethanol.