Kejriwal calls on Toyota, Maruti & Hero to ‘clarify in writing’ E20 fuel safe for pre-2023 vehicles
New Delhi: Amid the raging row over the use of E20 ethanol-blended petrol in older vehicles, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday wrote to 29 automobile manufacturers seeking a written clarification on what he referred to as contradictory positions about the fuel’s compatibility with vehicles manufactured before 2023.
Addressing a press conference here Wednesday afternoon, Kejriwal said the companies had been asked to clarify within seven days whether owners of older vehicles could safely use E20 petrol after their representatives publicly said that the fuel would not damage engines, while vehicle manuals advised otherwise. He said he had written separate letters to Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar and Hero MotoCorp, whose representatives had stated at a government press conference on 4 July that E20 petrol could be used in older vehicles without causing engine damage, with only a marginal reduction in fuel efficiency.
“This is the letter written to these three companies, Toyota Kirloskar, Maruti and Hero. It is mentioned in the letter that during a government press conference on the 4th, you said that E20 can be used in old vehicles, mileage decreases slightly by 4-5 percent, but there is no damage to the vehicle. However, your owner’s manual says that under no circumstances should more than 10 percent ethanol-blended petrol be used in pre-2023 vehicles. So, there is a contradiction between your two positions,” he said.
Kejriwal claimed that the user manuals of vehicles manufactured before 2023 advise against using petrol containing more than 10 percent ethanol.
“Your published owner’s manual, which forms part of the agreement between the consumer and the company, says one thing, while your representatives say something entirely different at a government press conference. This is not a minor mistake or discrepancy. Therefore, I have asked them to publicly clarify their actual position in writing,” he said.
According to Kejriwal, the written responses would help establish the companies’ official position on the compatibility of E20 petrol with older vehicles, and determine whether consumers had received conflicting guidance.
The letters come a day after Kejriwal accused the Narendra Modi government of pressuring automobile manufacturers to endorse the use of E20 petrol in vehicles designed for E10 fuel. He alleged that the Centre had asked manufacturers to publicly state that E20 fuel would not damage older vehicles despite warnings in owners’ manuals against using petrol containing more than 10 percent ethanol.
He also said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking clarity on who would compensate consumers if vehicles were damaged because of the nationwide rollout of E20 fuel.
No immediate response was forthcoming from automobile manufacturers or the Centre on Kejriwal’s latest allegations.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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