Our Vehicles Are Safe To Drive On E20 Fuel: Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra, one of India’s largest automakers, will issue an advisory regarding E20 compliance and any issues related to it. However, at the latest SIAM convention in New Delhi, Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of Mahindra’s Automotive Division, exclusively confirmed to Acko Drive that the brand’s vehicles are safe to be driven with 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol (E20). 

Gollagunta said that “our customers can drive the vehicles, even the vehicles (manufactured) prior to April 1, 2023, are safe to be driven with E20.” He expressed that vehicles were manufactured with E20 in mind and hence have been calibrated in that way. 

When asked whether E20 leads to degradation in terms of performance or fuel economy, Gollagunta said, “You might see a degradation in terms of performance or fuel, but that really depends on your driving behaviour and the kind of traffic conditions you’re in. So (it’s) hard to differentiate one from the other.”

Gollagunta also said that Mahindra & Mahindra will honour the warranty on cars which were not built to E20 standards, stating that “the warranty stays intact”. This will give customers some peace of mind that if their vehicles are damaged by E20 fuel, Mahindra will honour the warranty and provide necessary repairs to fix the issues. 

On a separate note, Gollagunta said that Mahindra & Mahindra have now delivered more than 22,000 units of the XEV 9e and BE 6 electric SUVs. This is an interesting development, highlighting the popularity of Mahindra’s new born electric SUVs. 

However, Gollagunta said that when the next 20,000 unit sales milestone will come is hard to guess, but Mahindra does have a few more EV-specific launches planned for the remainder of the year. It remains to be seen what those EV-specific launches will be could it could include the much-awaited EV version of the XUV 3XO, Mahindra’s only subcompact SUV on sale in India right now.