Government and industry leaders say warranties valid on E20 fuel
Panellists included SIAM and ARAI, who have noted that OEMs will honour the validity of the warranty with the upcoming E20 fuelling.
New Delhi: With the Supreme Court hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) on E20 fuel policy, senior leaders from the auto component manufacturers, oil companies and testing agencies like ARAI came forward on a panel last week to address the fears regarding the usage of E20 blended fuel. The main focus was, of course, addressing consumers about the concerns over the drop in mileage, damage to components and warranty validity.
They also pointed out the reason why the country was moving towards a higher blend of ethanol in petrol supply. Panellists did note that 70 per cent of the ethanol procured value goes directly to farmers. In fact, PS Ravi, Director, Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI) has said that over the course of the last 3 to 4 years, Rs 40,000 crore had been invested in new distilleries and indigenous equipment.
Prashant Kumar Banerjee, Chief Executive Director of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said that despite what is said in the vehicle’s user manual, warranty commitments by OEMs will be given full honour for E20 usage and noted that insurance claims would be unaffected.
ARAI's E20 test on older models
Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) have said that they conducted tests on two and four-wheelers from 2005 to 2021 and noted there wasn’t a significant impact of the E20 blended petrol. The body said that the report comes with OEM-sensitive data held under a non-disclosure agreement, and hence, the report cannot be made public.
The other area in doubt is the impact E20 fuel will have on vehicles above 10 years of age. The officials have said that these vehicles haven’t had any failures, but nothing is known about long-term effects. With millions running on Indian roads, specifically the two-wheelers, it is likely that there are 75-80 million before BS4 motorcycles still being operated, with many using them for daily usage. For vehicles that are out of warranty, these aspects remain a cause of worry.
Mileage, which is an area of concern for every Indian vehicle operator, the low energy from ethanol means the ethanol has close to 24 MJ/L, which for petrol is 34 MJ/L. Which means that there is a six per cent drop in terms of energy density. With the E10 already running, the government has said that the actual drop will be only 2 per cent.
It is unlikely to be a price drop, as officials have said that the bigger goal of the ethanol program is to lower India’s import of crude oil. The claim further says that sourcing ethanol is, in fact, much more expensive than crude oil. In markets like Brazil and the US, blended fuels are offered at a much lower price.
The panel has done enough to reassure about the manufacturers honouring the valid warranties and about the mileage, but there still remains a lot to be asked for. The argument at present is to run both types of fuel in order to accommodate older vehicles, and the stance on this will be decided soon.