E20, 22, 25, 27, 30, 85: Is your car or bike ready for ethanol-blended petrol? Here's all you need to know

In its latest push for ethanol-blended fuels, the Narendra Modi-led Central government has waived off excise duty on several variants, including E22, E25, E27 and E30.

Essentially, this means that excise duty will be 'nil' on petrol with 22%, 25%, 27% and 30% ethanol blend.

The waiver is aimed at encouraging customers to move towards ethanol-blended petrol at a time when petrol and diesel prices have increased by a cumulative ₹7.5 per litre since the escalation of the West Asia conflict.

In March, the central government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by ₹10/litre — foregoing over ₹1 lakh crore of annual revenue — in an attempt to cushion domestic customers from the surge in global crude oil prices.

Recently, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced the rollout of E85 or petrol blended with 85% ethanol.

As the government pushes for more ethanol-blended fuels, domestic customers have certain queries — primarily whether blended petrol would be cheaper than regular petrol and how it would impact the efficiency of the vehicle engine.

Here's all you need to know.

Similarly, E25, E27 and E30 have 25%, 27% and 30% ethanol composition by volume, respectively.

In its notification, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) laid down specifications for fuel blends made by mixing petrol with anhydrous ethanol or ethanol, i.e., free from moisture, for use in “positive ignition engine-powered vehicles”.

It is important to note that the ministry has notified E22-E30 blends but has not yet rolled them out for retail.

Before that, E10 was the standard for years until 2022.

In 2021, NITI Aayog published its Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25, which advanced the E20 deadline from 2030 to 2025.

In 2023, PM Modi launched E20 fuel at the India Energy Week and rolled it out at 84 petrol pumps across 11 states and Union Territories. Starting April 2023, all vehicles sold were mandated to be E20-compliant.

In August 2025, the government said that OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) had achieved an average ethanol blending of 19.93% in July 2025 — nearly six months ahead of their target.

About 9 lakh passenger vehicles were ethanol-compliant, out of a total of 30.36 lakh vehicles registered in 2025. Similarly, of the 13.76 crore two-wheelers registered in 2025, only 50.2 lakh were compliant with E20 blends.

But this is limited to 2025, when most vehicles sold were already equipped with E20-ready engines. Based on vehicle registration data for the last 15 years, assuming these vehicles are still on the road, ethanol-compliant vehicles account for only about 3% of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers.

Of the 24,710 surveyed, half reported that fuel efficiency had dipped in the last 9 months, with some reporting that mileage decreased up to 20%.

It also found that roughly one in every three car owners who purchased their vehicle before 2022 experienced unusual levels of wear and tear or need for repair in the last 9 months. Most vehicle owners have experienced issues with their car's engines, fuel lines, tanks, carburettors, etc.

Despite mounting public concern, the government remains steadfast in its transition toward even higher ethanol blends. Policymakers view the blending programme as a cornerstone strategy to reduce India’s reliance on imported crude oil, lower vehicular emissions, and support the agricultural sectors that produce sugarcane- and grain-based ethanol.

More importantly, the E85 fuel will be priced ₹20 lower than the E20 blend, the minister said.

The table below shows how each of the variants is priced in Delhi at the moment:

Whether blends from E22-E30 will be cheaper than the present E20 blend will be clear once these variants are officially rolled out for retail by the government and the OMCs.

Earlier this month, Puri presented new E85-compatible variants of Hero MotoCorp Ltd’s motorcycles and Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s Wagon R hatchback, indicating the government’s intent to help build a transport ecosystem to support higher ethanol use.

The government is mulling policy measures to accelerate the adoption of hybrid-fuel vehicles, according to Puri. The fuel will be available at as many as 500 pumps by the end of the year, he said.