E20 petrol controversy | India's top carmakers privately raise serious concerns about fuel contamination: Report

India's top carmakers have privately raised serious concerns about fuel contamination involving E20, petrol blended with 20% ethanol content. Despite public support, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra flagged worries privately, according to Reuters. Internal emails, reviewed by the agency, revealed these hidden concerns.

The revelation comes after India's auto lobby withdrew a complaint related to E20 petrol. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) submitted the letter on 28 July.

SIAM withdrew it following the Centre's public assurance about E20 petrol. It claimed that certain figures in the letter needed further authentication.

However, private industry emails showed no such data concerns existed, according to Reuters. Executives discussed the contamination findings internally without questioning their accuracy.

E20 has been mandatory nationwide since 1 April this year. This rollout aims to reduce pollution and cut oil imports.

Consumer complaints have grown regarding vehicle performance under this fuel. Many motorists report reduced mileage and increased wear on cars.

Industry testing involved collecting over 250 fuel samples across India. These samples came from 21 states and territories nationwide.

High chloride contamination emerged in samples from 18 states. High moisture content was also detected across multiple locations.

Chloride levels reportedly reached up to 570 parts per million in Rajasthan. Delhi recorded levels up to 420 ppm in testing. Maharashtra showed readings as high as 357 ppm.

India's permissible chloride limit currently stands at just 3 ppm. These findings, therefore, substantially exceeded official government standards.

Moisture levels also breached permissible limits in several states. Andhra Pradesh recorded levels up to 13,000 ppm. Uttar Pradesh showed similarly high readings around 12,500 ppm.

The government's moisture benchmark currently permits only 3,000 ppm maximum.

Maruti's senior executive, Anoop Bhat, raised these concerns internally. He noted that fuel injectors could tolerate only 1 ppm chloride.

Mahindra's engineer, R Ramaprabhu, warned about organic chloride. He said this contaminant caused rapid vehicle failures within 200km.

He claimed most immediate post-fuelling failures stem from this contamination. Mahindra reportedly currently holds strong evidence supporting these findings.

"Majority cases reported immediately after fuelling ... is due to organic chloride," Reuters quoted him as writing.

E20: Mixed reactions

SIAM told Reuters that the data was meant for internal discussion only. It said very few automakers had actually collected this data.

The petroleum ministry didn't respond to Reuters' requests for comment regarding this issue. However, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri addressed concerns publicly last week.

He said oil companies had started rigorous fuel testing before receiving SIAM's letter. Only four contamination cases were found during this testing process.

State-run fuel retailers also conducted extensive testing recently, they said. They found no cause for alarm regarding fuel contamination concerns.

Mahindra has since called email-based conclusions "completely baseless and incorrect". It insists testing remains limited and preliminary at this stage.

Maruti and Tata did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.