Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota— Full list of car manufacturers that have ensured E20 compatibility | Today’s news

Several leading automakers have issued clarifications amid growing concerns about the impact of using E20 gasoline on mileage and engine performance. Automakers have strongly denied the claims, with Mercedes-Benz the latest to issue an advisory to refute the viral claims. Amid widespread consumer opposition to the introduction of E20, let’s find out which automakers support the Center’s ethanol blending program.

Mercedes-Benz India issued a customer advisory on July 12 regarding concerns over the use of E20 petrol. In a post on X, the German automaker said: “At Mercedes-Benz, customer safety, vehicle reliability and performance are paramount to us. All Mercedes-Benz vehicles with a BS VI petrol engine are materially compatible with E20 fuel and certified accordingly by the relevant authorities.”

BMW Group India President and CEO Hardeep Singh Brar also addressed the fuel readiness of BMW petrol vehicles. According to the German car company, its vehicles have long supported mixtures with a higher ethanol content, which were prepared up to E25 fuel. “I would like to emphasize that in the last few years our cars have been ready for fuel up to E25 and will be ready in accordance with the future regulations,” Brar said assuring that the current BMW vehicles meet the current Indian standards.

Hyundai Motor India associate vice president Puneet Anand said earlier this month, “We are very confident that we have not seen any glaring issues on social media that would warrant a review of the government’s biofuel blending program,” Bloomberg reported.

At a joint press conference with government officials on July 4, Maruti Suzuki India CEO Rahul Bharti said the E20 fuel is compatible even with older E10-certified vehicles. “We tested E10 cars that were prevalent before 2023 on E20 fuel for all parameters and found nothing of concern,” argued Bharti, stating that E20-compatible vehicles are on sale from 2025. He further noted that the company has not found any problems related to wear, corrosion or reduced life of components after coming into contact with E20 fuel.

India’s largest carmaker further emphasized that it has serviced more than 15 million older cars that were not certified for E20 over the past two years and found no fuel-related issues. This was reported by the Reuters agency.

• Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Country Head and Executive Vice President Vikram Gulati called ethanol a “very good fuel” and described the biofuel as a high-performance, cleaner-burning fuel. Hinting that ethanol blending has long been used in high-performance applications, including auto racing, he added, “The vehicles that are available to consumers are extremely well engineered, well designed and have a very huge element of oversight through technically sound testing agencies,” ANI reported.

According to a statement from Hero MotoCorp Business Director Ashutosh Verma, the safety of E20 fuel is also supported by extensive tests and field data from millions of two-wheelers. He dismissed concerns about using E20 fuel, saying, “We analyze the millions of service data that we have, and … vehicles that run on E20 do not experience any more damage than vehicles that ran on pre-E20 fuels.”

In an official statement quoting Central Marketing President Sumeet Narang, Bajaj Auto said that all its bikes produced in the last 10 years are fully E20 compatible, citing the consistent work of its R&D team. The company specified that its entire portfolio complies with the new fuel standard. So Pulsar, Dominar, Avenger, KTM and Triumph motorcycles are compatible with E20 petrol.

TVS Motor AVP, Head of Regulatory Affairs, Product Stewardship and Advanced Materials, Anand Kumar, also ensured E20 compatibility during a press conference held in Mumbai.

Tata Motors head of product design Anil Kumar ensured compatibility with E20 fuel, acknowledging the slight drop in fuel consumption and the need for regular maintenance of components such as seals, NDTV Profit reported.