Mercedes-Benz CEO Santosh Iyer claims bulk of company’s cars on Indian roads E-20 fuel compliant
He was addressing the media after launching the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupe, a high-performance, two-door luxury model
Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s India Managing Director & CEO, Santosh Iyer, has stated that the bulk of the company’s cars currently on Indian roads are E20-compliant and the firm has been selling such models in the country since 2018.
The CEO apprised the media while launching the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupé, a high-performance, two-door luxury model in India, with (ex-showroom, Delhi) price starting at Rs.1.35 crores.
(E20 compliance means a vehicle’s engine, fuel system, and emission-control components are designed and tested to operate safely on petrol, blended with up to 20 percent ethanol, without causing damage.
However, recent posts on social media discussed whether E20 fuel affected efficiency and engine performance.
Iyer explained that all BS-6 compliant cars sold in the country are E20 compliant. Adding, “Mercedes-Benz was the first in India to introduce a BS-6 compliant car. In August 2018, we introduced the new S class, which was BS-6 compliant. The Minister for Roads and Transport, Nitin Gadkari, had flagged that car.”
Meanwhile, the German carmaker has not tested the cars that were sold before August 2018 for the impact of E20 fuel on their engines and fuel efficiency. Iyer admitted that those cars could impact performance due to E20 fuel, now sold at fuel pumps.
He noted, “We have sold 200,000 cars in India in the past 30 years. However, the past 100,000 units were sold in the past six years. The last 150,000 units were sold in the past 10 years. So, a bulk of the cars sold in India would be E20-compliant.”
Iyer stated, “In 2024, we started getting the E20 certificates for our cars. In that sense, all our cars in India are fully compliant with E20. Material compatibility (with E20 fuel) also remains for cars that we sold earlier. But the fuel, and by the laws of physics and chemistry, you can say that if you have a lower or higher ethanol rating, the combustion process is different. Therefore, there will be a difference in performance.”
“But today, the cars that we are currently selling have no change in performance because they are all compatible with the E20 fuel. The cars sold many years back might have had a slight impact on the performance. The government’s direction is clear, and from April 2024, we started getting our cars certified as E20 compliant,” he established.
India’s top luxury carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, started FY 2025-2026 with its best-ever April–June sales, delivering 4,238 cars, a 10 percent increase from last year.