Does E20 petrol reduce mileage of your car, bike? Centre answers
Fuel policy is showing up everywhere, so here's the latest. The Centre has admitted for the first time that E20 petrol, that's petrol blended with 20 percent ethanol, may slightly reduce vehicle mileage. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the drop is small and depends on many factors, and stressed that E20 was rolled out after consulting bodies like SIAM and ARAI. Now the interesting bit, ethanol blending is central to India's plan to cut crude oil imports and support sugarcane farmers under the Ethanol Blending Programme. Bottom line for the exam, remember E20 means 20 percent ethanol blending, the mileage admission, and the import-reduction logic behind the policy.
For the first time, the Centre said that E20 petrol may have some impact on the mileage of vehicles. However, while clarifying the issue, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that the drop in mileage could be because of a host of factors.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, he said, “Somebody is saying that fuel mileage is going to drop. It is now well established that ethanol is even used in racing cars. Acceleration improves. What is that called? Knocking? Knocking also improves. Mileage? Yes, it may drop a little. But it may drop slightly due to various factors.”
He further said that the Centre had deployed E20 petrol after consulting all stakeholders, including SIAM and ARAI.
On insurance coverage of vehicles, he said: “Someone says, ‘Your insurance will no longer cover this’. Insurance companies have already clarified that there is no such issue.”
VIDEO | Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) addresses concerns over ethanol-blended fuel.
Addressing a press conference in Delhi, he says, “Somebody is saying that fuel mileage is going to drop. It is now well established that ethanol is even used in…pic.twitter.com/pzFN4f0o6y
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News)July 2, 2026
He further said that India’s growing consumer market for all technologies can coexist as there is enough space. “There is room for electric vehicles, biofuel blended vehicles, and we are currently only at 20 per cent ethanol blending. If we move from 20 per cent to 25 per cent, it will happen only after all the necessary tests have been completed. There is also enough space for hybrid vehicles and CNG vehicles,” he added.
Earlier the government had laid down the BIS standards for petrol blends containing 22%, 25%, 27%, and 30% ethanol and exempted them from excise duty. Puri’s ministry later clarified that the exemption and standards approval was only a regulatory measure and in no way meant immediate rollout of higher blended fuel variants.
While the government is taking steps to promote blended petrol as a cleaner alternative fuel, public concern over damage to vehicles and reduced mileage has been on the rise. In a detailed post on social media platform X, the ministry said the perception that ethanol blending is damaging vehicles or creating undue inconvenience for consumers is not grounded in facts. It maintained that ethanol blending is a scientifically validated and environmentally sustainable initiative that offers multiple benefits to the country.