‘Industry and govt need to further deliberate for higher than e20 blends’: Christian Cahn von Seelen

Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has turned fully e20 compliant with the majority of models in its India 2.0 lineup comprising the Skoda Kushaq & Slavia and the Volkswagen Virtus & Taigun range passing the e20 test for blending ethanol with petrol.

The automaker which has its facilities in Pune's Chakan and Aurangabad has said that going further than e-20 levels for ethanol blending involves "multiple challenges which need greater deliberations from the government and industry" as regulators are looking for a speedy transition to the Brazil model with a higher grade of ethanol blending in fuels for India.

Christian Cahn von Seelen, Executive Director of Sales, Marketing, and Digital, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India who was present at the Mobility Next Hyderabad Summit in an Exclusive Chat with Autocar Professional said "The Brazil model has served the host country well.  India is a very different market with its own set of challenges. For higher blends, we will need greater deliberations with the government and the need for overall infrastructure to catch up".

Cahn von Seelen is not alone even Maruti's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Hisashi Takeuchi at the recently concluded Auto Expo 2023 had also expressed similar concerns regarding the infrastructure and availability of such fuels at petrol pumps for OEMs to launch specific models.

He further indicated that e20 is critical to India's transition to cleaner fuels and within the Skoda-Volkswagen family which works at a global level they would be keen to bring about the latest technology to support the government and speed up the process.

In the 2023-24 Budget the Government has also acknowledged the need for facilitating the energy transition and allocated Rs 35,000 crore for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for capital investment towards energy transition, net zero objectives, along with energy security.

Cahn von Seelen also that the budget has been very encouraging for India's transition to clean energy and the company is looking forward to the next steps "regulators take to dovetail governments next steps and support the transition to clean energy".

As part of the Groups clean energy shift the Group’s Aurangabad facility in November last year transitioned to 100% ‘Green’ energy achieving an approximately 48% reduction in CO2 every year with the Group’s Pune facility moving 30% of its annual energy needs.

The Group’s Aurangabad facility transitioned to 100% ‘Green’ energy in November 2022, well ahead of its 2025 target, and will achieve an approximately 48% reduction in CO2 every year. While the Group’s Pune facility has one of the largest rooftop solar power plants that has resulted in close to 30% of its annual energy needs.