Top carmakers flagged E20 fuel contamination before backtracking

The Story in Brief

Leading Indian automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra privately communicated serious worries about contamination in E20 petrol weeks before their industry lobby publicly withdrew a warning to the government. Internal emails reviewed by Reuters show the companies conducted extensive fuel testing across 21 states, collecting over 250 samples. They found chloride levels up to 570 parts per million in Rajasthan, far above the permissible limit of 3 ppm. Moisture content in Andhra Pradesh reached 13,000 ppm against a 3,000 ppm benchmark. Maruti’s senior executive Anoop Bhat said current fuel injectors can tolerate only 1 ppm chloride. Mahindra’s engineer R. Ramaprabhu warned that organic chloride can cause engine failure within 200 km. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) withdrew its July 28 letter after a government and public backlash, saying the data needed authentication, and will now conduct a proper scientific study. Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said oil companies found only four contamination cases.