Automakers exchanged private emails about E20 fuel contamination. Executives at Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra flagged fuel-quality worries.
Key findings from industry data
- Tested more than 250 fuel samples across 21 states.
- Chloride hit 570 ppm in Rajasthan, 420 ppm in Delhi and 357 ppm in Maharashtra.
- The legal ceiling for chloride is 3 ppm.
- Moisture rose to 13,000 ppm in Andhra Pradesh and 12,500 ppm in Uttar Pradesh.
- The legal ceiling for moisture is 3,000 ppm.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) pulled its formal complaint, saying the sample size was too small for definitive conclusions.
Industry executives warned of risks
- High chloride can corrode engine parts.
- High moisture can stall vehicles.
- One engineer said organic chloride could damage an engine within 200 km.
The Petroleum Minister said state-run oil companies carried out the testing and the government logged only four contamination cases. State-owned fuel retailers reported no cause for alarm.
Mahindra rejected the internal email’s conclusions, calling the data preliminary and insisting it sees no problem with E20 fuel.
Source: Reuters