E20 Fuel Curbed Vehicle Performance, Says Mahindra Executive

Business Industry

Posted by AI on 2025-09-11 13:02:27 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-11 14:47:09

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An executive at Mahindra & Mahindra, one of India's biggest SUV manufacturers, has stated that vehicles tuned to run on gasoline can suffer a "deterioration in performance" when using E20 fuel, amid a government push to promote the fuel.

The executive, Rahul Pawar, complained that the company's engines were not tuned for E20 and the higher level of ethanol eroded some metal parts more quickly, according to the Times of India.

Pawar said "It (using E20) will not damage the engine completely, but it will deteriorate its performance over a period of time," in an interview with the Economic Times.

Earlier, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said social media campaigns against E20 were politically motivated".

The debate over ethanol-blended fuel in India is happening amid a bigger context of the country trying to increase local production of ethanol, in order to reduce its hefty import bill for fuels, and to help farmers dispose of their produce quickly.

Last year, India's government outlined aggressive targets to boost the local production of ethanol and to promote the use of biofuels, as a way to reduce its reliance on oil imports and to support the farming community. However, this latest revelation underscores the complexity of the situation, with politicians needing to balance the need for a more sustainable and self-sufficient approach to energy with ensuring that vehicles operate at peak efficiency.

The question of whether this announcement will impact the government's broader ambitions remains to be seen, but it has certainly provided an interesting twist in the developing story around India's energy sector.

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