India backs E20 safety as BMW says its cars are E25-ready

India reached 20% ethanol blending in petrol five years ahead of the original 2030 deadline, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said on June 24. The ministry said engine-damage, insurance and mileage concerns were overstated, while BMW Group India said its petrol cars have been E25-ready for years.

The National Policy on Biofuels, amended in 2022, had already advanced the 20% target to Ethanol Supply Year 2025-26. Those performance and mileage concerns were anticipated as early as 2020 by an inter-ministerial committee under NITI Aayog, which cited studies by the Automotive Research Association of India, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Tests on legacy vehicles running more than 1 lakh km on E20 found no engine failures or abnormal wear, although officials acknowledged a marginal drop in fuel efficiency.

E20 is expected to pay farmers about Rs 40,000 crore in the current year and save about Rs 43,000 crore in foreign exchange. Between 2014-15 and July 2025, ethanol blending by public sector oil marketing companies saved more than Rs 1.44 lakh crore in foreign exchange, substituted about 245 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil and cut an estimated 736 lakh metric tonnes of CO2, according to the ministry.

Hardeep Singh Brar, BMW Group India’s president and chief executive officer, said the company’s petrol vehicles have been compatible with E25 for several years, but existing vehicles cannot simply be upgraded for E30 fuel. Industry estimates put the mileage hit from E20 at about 1% to 4% depending on calibration and driving conditions.