Mercedes-Benz India has asked the government for a slow, phased shift to E25 petrol, warning that millions of older cars weren't built for higher ethanol blends.
Key facts
- Ask: gradual move to E25, clear roadmap
- E20 = standard petrol across India since 2025
- E25 now in ARAI trials (150,000 km testing)
- New Mercedes: E20-safe; S-Class Hybrid E25-ready
- E85 live from 5 June 2026, about ₹82/litre
- Mercedes H1 2026 sales: record 9,768 units, up 9%
Should you worry about your car and ethanol petrol? If it's a new Mercedes, no. If it's an older one, that's exactly the point Mercedes-Benz is raising. As India tests E25 petrol, the country's biggest luxury brand is asking the government to go slow and keep more than one fuel grade at pumps.
What Mercedes is asking for, and why now
India moved to E20 (petrol with 20% ethanol) as the default fuel in 2025, five years ahead of the old 2030 target. Now the government is testing E25 to cut oil imports and help farmers. Mercedes MD Santosh Iyer told the press, "Give us time", and said pumps should offer more than one fuel grade during the change. The worry isn't new cars. It's the huge number of older vehicles on Indian roads that were never built for high ethanol, which can rust fuel parts over time.
E20, E25, E85: what the numbers mean
The number is just the ethanol percentage. E20 is today's standard petrol. E25 is in testing. E85 (85% ethanol) went on sale on 5 June 2026 at about ₹82 a litre, roughly ₹20 cheaper than normal petrol. But here's the trap most buyers miss. An E20-ready car cannot run E85. Flex-fuel needs extra hardware, an ethanol sensor plus ECU tuning, not just compliance. Mercedes' new S-Class Hybrid is E25-ready; a mass-market Maruti Waggon R Flex (₹7.24 lakh) has been E85-capable from launch, about ₹86,000 dearer than the normal Waggon R.
Mileage and money: does the cheaper fuel pay off?
E20 knocks off about 2–7% mileage per SIAM, though some pre-2023 cars have seen 20–30% complaints, often blamed on bad fuel quality. E85 is worse on paper. Ethanol has about 30% less energy than petrol, so you burn 20–30% more fuel. That ₹20/litre saving gets eaten up fast. Add the ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh flex hardware premium, and the math only works if E85 pumps are everywhere. Right now they aren't, only Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur, with ~5,000 pumps targeted by end-2027.
Check out our latest blog: BMW M440i Convertible India price.
What it means for you as a buyer
Buying a new Mercedes? No drama. Iyer says the brand has seen zero real technical issues with E20, and queries cool down once buyers learn the cars are E20 compliant. Older luxury car? That's the friction: fuel-quality anxiety plus a possible resale hit if pumps drop the lower grades. Mercedes also made a second point: fix EV charging first, since patchy chargers are the bigger block to going electric. BMW India says its cars are already E25-ready too.
References: Mercedes-Benz India — official website
