Govt Tested E10-Compliant Cars On E20 Petrol, Found No Adverse Impact, Says Renault

India's strong push for E20 petrol has been sparking debates and discussions among car owners. In the past few days, we saw many manufacturers issueing circulars advising against the use of E20 petrol in non-compliant vehicles, especially the older ones. In an email response, the French carmaker Renault answered the concern of a customer, explaining that using E20 petrol in his 2022 Triber isn’t advisable as it hadn’t been tested for E20 compatibility. This sparked discussions online, and now the carmaker has come up with a follow-up statement. It says that various government bodies tested the E20 petrol on E10-compliant Renault cars and found no adverse impact.

The New Statement

Renault starts by saying that the recent queries about the use of E20 petrol in vehicles tested and certified for E10 compliance have prompted the response. The carmaker intends to address the concerns raised by customers with the same. It reads:

“As per the then prevailing norms, E-10 was the declared fuel for the purposes of Type Approval and Production tests of the said Renault Triber (Model 2022).

To answer the specific query on E10 compliant cars, a rigorous durability testing was conducted jointly by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and ARAI, involving various fuel combinations, including the use of E20 fuel in vehicles certified for E10.

The draft report of this study, shared with all OEMs (Pursuant to MoPNG letter No. P-13045(18)/19/2017-CC(E-13946)), while acknowledging that the present on-road vehicles are compatible for E20, concluded that there is no adverse impact from using E20 fuel in E10-compliant vehicles.

Based on these findings, no serious challenges have been perceived in Renault cars plying on roads using E20 fuel in E10-compliant and tested vehicles.”

A Deeper Dive

The new statement from Renault seems open-ended. It keeps things loosely defined at many places. It says that both ARAI and IOC have lately been conducting tests on E10 cars with E20 petrol. The draft report of this, concluded that ‘ there is no adverse impact’ from doing so. The last sentence says ‘Based on these findings, no serious challenges have been perceived in Renault cars plying on roads using E20 fuel in E10-compliant and tested vehicles.’

This essentially says that no issue has come to the notice of the company. It doesn’t confidently rule out the possibility of ‘issues stemming from the use of E20 petrol on E10 cars’. Renault seems to be shifting the onus to the IOC and ARAI, to research and prove the actual impacts of E20 fuel.

The Previous E-Mail Conversation And Its Impact

The email exchange between the French carmaker and the Triber customer may have upset the government. It clearly mentioned the following ‘We would like to inform you that the Triber - 2022 has not been tested for compatibility with E20 fuel. Therefore, the use of E20 fuel in your vehicle is not advisable.’ The screenshots of this exchange surfaced amidst the increased governmental campaigns and push for E20 implementation.

The Larger Picture

The latest statement from Renault tends to dilute the impact of this exchange, reassuring the buyers with ‘test-based conclusions’. Both the IOC and ARAI are government bodies. Renault, in its new response, is merely citing test results from these.

Tomorrow, if an E20-born issue surfaces, Renault India will have to honour warranty for the engine components. Owners can then use this statement against the company, possibly to claim warranty.

Bottomline

The continuous use of E20 in non-compliant cars can cause issues. While a drop in fuel efficiency will be instantly noticeable, complex issues like engine wear will only appear in the long run, and the intensity and nature of these could vary with make and model.

Damages to rubber components like fuel lines are expected to be gradual- these need to be replaced once in every 30,000 km (you now know what the time span is!) We will thus have to wait more to see the actual impacts of E20 fuel on the automotive industry at large.