Pay ₹160 or Use E20: Govt Says No Ethanol in Premium Petrol, No Return of E0/E10

The Centre has reiterated that regular petrol across India will continue to carry 20 per cent ethanol blending, even as it insists premium fuel variants will remain ethanol-free, a distinction that starkly separates what ordinary commuters use from what a wealthy few can afford.

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi told the Lok Sabha this week that premium grades such as Indian Oil's XP100, HPCL's poWer100 and BPCL's Speed100 skip ethanol blending because they are niche, additive-rich fuels forming barely 0.5 per cent of total petrol sales. These cost around Rs 160 a litre, against roughly Rs 102 for standard E20 petrol used by the overwhelming majority of India's vehicle owners.

The government maintains there is no proposal to raise blending beyond 20 per cent, nor to revive E0 or E10 fuel, citing the cost of running parallel supply chains and its commitment to cleaner energy and farmer welfare.

Yet the picture on the ground is messier than official statements suggest. A LocalCircles survey found nearly half of older vehicle owners reporting a decline in mileage since the mandatory E20 rollout in April 2026. Bengaluru residents have reported reduced mileage, engine damage and more frequent service visits after switching to E20, with mechanics unable to pinpoint causes other than the fuel itself. Carmakers themselves added to the confusion, initially saying E20 had not been tested for compatibility with older vehicles before backtracking to call it safe.

Despite this, the government told the Rajya Sabha last month that it has received no widespread or substantiated formal complaints from manufacturers, associations or consumer bodies attributing engine failure or corrosion to E20, with official complaint records showing nil figures. The Petroleum Ministry has separately called claims of a drastic mileage drop "factually incorrect," estimating losses of just 1-2 per cent in E10-to-E20-calibrated vehicles and 3-6 per cent in older ones, fixable through tuning and part upgrades.

The net effect: while the government fields no formal complaints, everyday users online tell a different story — and only those who can pay 50 per cent more get to avoid ethanol altogether.