India Auto Body Withdraws E20 Fuel Corrosion Warning

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) late Tuesday withdrew its letter to the government that had flagged corrosion and wear in vehicle parts linked to high chloride levels in E20 fuel, saying the data needed further authentication. The industry body said the concerns it had earlier raised had since been addressed.

A draft of the earlier letter to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) cited "huge increase" in customer issues with fuel injectors, fuel pumps, exhaust gas recirculation valves, and other parts in direct contact with fuel or engine emissions. Field failure investigations traced the damage to corrosion or wear caused by high chloride presence in the fuel, with deposits in failed parts also showing chlorides.

In a social media post past midnight Monday, SIAM clarified that the data required further authentication through "collection of elaborate data from various regions across the country followed by a comprehensive consultation with our member OEMs." The body did not explain why it had included unauthenticated data in its letter to MoPNG.

Chloride contamination can corrode and permanently damage engine parts either immediately or over time, depending on the contamination level.

Tehseen Poonawalla, founder of citizens' advocacy collective Team Bharat, said the letter contradicted Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's assertions that no vehicles had been damaged by the blended fuel. "The Union Transport Minister lied to the country. He has recurrently challenged to get him one vehicle that has been damaged because of the blended fuel. Now, SIAM's own letter says several vehicles have been damaged, and have had an uptick because of the same," he said. Poonawalla called for accountability from OEMs and urged the Petroleum Ministry to control chloride contamination.

SIAM had reported chloride contamination of as much as 500 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) in fuel samples from vehicular tanks it inspected, and said the increase in chloride-related issues was observed "specifically after the E20 implementation and very few prior to that." The body had asked the government to include chloride limits in fuel specifications and implement quality controls.

In withdrawing the letter, SIAM sought to assure that existing measures meet industry requirements. It noted that MoPNG had instituted 3 ppm (parts per million) guidelines for chloride and sulphur limits for all ethanol blended into the petrol supply chain. It also emphasized that oil-marketing companies have instituted checks, including water ingress testing 8-12 times a day in over 87,000 outlets and after each spell of rain near petrol pumps.

The now-withdrawn letter had also flagged "excess moisture" in the ethanol blended fuel, with moisture levels beyond 10,000 mg/kg (1%) in many cases, causing fuel separation and immediate vehicle damage. It called for "inspection and periodic audit of those retail outlets which are very old and prone for water contamination to be conducted by OMCs."

The withdrawal comes as India pushes ahead with its E20 rollout, a 20% ethanol blend in petrol, under a broader plan to cut oil imports and emissions. Automakers have raised durability concerns, while the government has defended the policy. Gadkari had previously challenged critics to produce a single damaged vehicle.

SIAM's latest statement did not address why it sent unverified data to MoPNG in the first place. The ministry's 3 ppm guideline and the OMCs' water ingress testing regime now stand as the official safeguards for the fuel supply chain.