Now Reading: Government explores E10 premium petrol for older vehicles
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Government explores E10 premium petrol for older vehicles
The petroleum ministry is in early-stage talks with state-run oil marketing companies about selling premium 95-octane petrol brands, such as Indian Oil's XP95, Bharat Petroleum's SPEED and Hindustan Petroleum's Power95, with a…
The petroleum ministry is in early-stage talks with state-run oil marketing companies about selling premium 95-octane petrol brands, such as Indian Oil's XP95, Bharat Petroleum's SPEED and Hindustan Petroleum's Power95, with a 10% ethanol blend, according to an exclusive report. The move would give owners of older vehicles access to E10 fuel without building separate storage or distribution infrastructure for a new fuel stream. Premium petrol currently contains E20 but already has dedicated pumps at around 90,000 outlets and accounts for about 15% of OMC petrol sales.
Motorists and consumer groups have raised persistent concerns about the impact of E20, now the standard blend, on older vehicles and fuel efficiency. The government has previously rejected calls for multiple ethanol blends at the same filling station, calling it logistically unfeasible. Chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran recently argued for restoring a lower-ethanol option alongside E20. Fuel dealers say switching premium petrol to E10 would require no tank or delivery-unit changes. No final decision has been taken.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The proposal reflects a tension between India's ethanol blending roadmap, targeting 20% blending by 2025, and the reality that lakhs of pre-2023 vehicles remain on road certified only for E10. A separate E10 retail network would require OMCs to retrofit tanks and pumps at an estimated cost of several hundred crore rupees per company, which the government has resisted. Premium petrol, sold at a 10-13% price premium and already dispensed from dedicated nozzles, offers a low-capital workaround. The Petroleum Ministry's own July 2024 statement ruled out multiple ethanol blends at the same pump, sharply limiting the options. If the proposal proceeds without a decision, the next signal is whether OMCs agree to a pilot in one or two states before any national rollout. The core question is whether the government will sacrifice fuel choice to keep its ethanol blending timeline intact, or redesign the policy around the vehicle stock already in use.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
