Mercedes-Benz India Flags Fuel Adulteration Concerns as E20 Rollout Gathers Pace

As India pushes ahead with higher ethanol blending to reduce crude oil imports and emissions, Mercedes-Benz India is seeing growing customer anxiety around E20 fuel due to suspected fuel adulteration at some retail outlets. Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer said the luxury carmaker has been receiving a rise in customer queries around E20 fuel and has equipped its dealer network with FAQs to address them.

"In terms of queries, we've seen a lot of anxiety, with a lot of customers asking us and our dealerships. We have given FAQs to our dealers so that they are able to answer them. We were one of the first to get materially compliant E20 cars, as well as emission-compliant E20 cars. The new S-Class hybrid we launched in Bombay is already an E25-compliant car. So I think we, as long as the compliance levels are concerned, are not bothered," he said.

India has accelerated its ethanol blending programme, achieving the 20% blending target ahead of schedule. While most new passenger vehicles are now being made E20-compatible, the transition has also raised concerns among consumers about vehicle performance and fuel quality.

Iyer cautioned that the company is seeing instances where poor-quality fuel is being mistaken for issues arising from ethanol blending. "We have seen increased fuel adulteration happening under the garb of E20, which is also causing concern because we have some customers who may not have filled the right quality of fuel, and then explaining it to them may be challenging," he said.

According to Iyer, the challenge lies in distinguishing genuine E20-related concerns from fuel quality issues at retail stations, something that often leaves customers confused. "So this is something for the enforcement agencies and regulators to check because under this E20, even we can see a bit of proliferation of fuel adulteration, which is causing anxiety and concern among customers," he said.