Mercedes, Maruti, Toyota & Others Assure Buyers Over E20 Fuel Compatibility

Leading automobile manufacturers have issued advisories to rebut viral claims and consumer worries about E20 petrol's effect on mileage and engine performance. The wave of clarifications comes as backlash grows over the Centre's ethanol blending programme rollout.

The list of manufacturers includes Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, Hero and Bajaj.

Collectively, these manufacturers express their confidence in E20 fuel and refute the prevailing criticism around the biofuel, saying E20 does not raise any concern and that their vehicles are completely compatible with E20.

Car Maker Assurances

On 12 July 2026, Mercedes-Benz India issued a customer advisory to address concerns around E20 petrol. In a post on X, the German automaker stated, “At Mercedes-Benz, customer safety, vehicle reliability and performance are of paramount importance to us. All Mercedes-Benz petrol BS VI vehicles are materially compatible with E20 fuel and certified accordingly by relevant authorities.”

BMW Group India President Hardeep Singh Brar also addressed the fuel readiness of BMW's petrol vehicles. The German carmaker's vehicles have long supported higher ethanol blends. "I would like to highlight that for the past several years, our cars have been prepared to take up to E25 fuel and will be ready in line with future regulations," Brar said, assuring that BMW vehicles meet present Indian standards.

Hyundai Motor India Associate Vice President Puneet Anand said, “We are very confident that we haven’t seen any glaring issues on social media that warrant a rethink of the government’s biofuel blending programme.” Bloomberg reported.

At a joint press conference with government officials on 4 July 2026, Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer Rahul Bharti said E20 fuel is compatible even with older E10-certified vehicles. “We have tested E10 cars, which were prevalent before 2023, on E20 fuel for all parameters, and we have not found anything of concern.” Bharti said E20-compatible vehicles have been on sale since 2025.

He said the company found no issues relating to wear and tear, corrosion or shortened component life after contact with E20 fuel. Maruti Suzuki serviced more than 15 million older cars over the past two years that were not certified for E20 and found no fuel-related problems, Reuters reported.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor Executive Vice President Vikram Gulati called ethanol "a very good fuel" and described the biofuel as a high-performance, cleaner-burning fuel. He suggested that ethanol blending has long been used in high-performance applications, including motor racing. Gulati said, “Vehicles that are made available to consumers are extremely well-engineered, well-designed and have a very immense element of oversight through technically sound testing agencies.” ANI reported.

Tata Motors PV Head of Product Design Anil Kumar said E20 fuel is compatible, while acknowledging a marginal drop in fuel economy and the need for regular maintenance of components like gaskets, NDTV Profit reported.

Two-Wheeler Readiness

Hero MotoCorp Chief Business Officer Ashutosh Verma said extensive testing and field data from millions of two-wheelers support the safety of E20 fuel. Dismissing concerns over E20 fuel use, he said, “We analyse crores of service data that we have, and…there is no incidence whatsoever of any higher damage with vehicles that run on E20 than the vehicles that were running on fuels before E20.”

In an official statement quoting President of Central Marketing Sumeet Narang, Bajaj Auto said all its bikes made in the last 10 years are fully compatible with E20 fuel. The company cited rigorous work by its R&D team. The company clarified that its entire portfolio adheres to the new fuel standard. Hence, Pulsar, Dominar, Avenger, KTM and Triumph motorcycles are compatible with E20 petrol.

TVS Motor AVP Anand Kumar also assured E20 compatibility during a press conference held in Mumbai.