BT Explainer: How India’s ethanol blending programme compares with Brazil and the rest of the world

India’s ambitious ethanol blending programme has clocked several milestones in recent years. The percentage of ethanol in petrol increased from 1.53% during the Ethanol Supply Year (November to October) 2013-14 to 5% in 2019-20. This 5% baseline ethanol blend in petrol trebled over the next six years as India achieved the 20% target in July 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 deadline.

E20, a fuel blend comprising 20% ethanol and 80% petrol, was made mandatory at fuel pumps across India since July 2025, barring a few pumps in mostly big cities which offer pure petrol at a much higher price.

Brazil, which is often cited as a success story for ethanol blended petrol, has a 30% mandatory ethanol blend in gasoline. But this transition to higher blends happened over five decades. Brazil’s ethanol blending programme officially began in 1976. The introduction of flex-fuel vehicles made the transition easier. In fact, Brazil temporarily raised mandatory ethanol blend to 32% in July amid soaring crude oil prices.

Except Brazil, no other country in the world has a mandate for ethanol blending of 20% and above. In the United States, E10 is the standard blend sold at gas stations. Japan’s average ethanol blend rate has remained at 1.9% in 2025 even as it plans to introduce nationwide E10 blending by 2030. The average ethanol blend across most of the European Union stands at E10.

Motorists in Brazil have been able to use higher ethanol blends only because around 90% vehicles sold in the country are flex-fuel vehicles or FFVs, a vehicle that can take up to 85% ethanol.

For Indian consumers, though, there is limited choice. With just one flex-fuel car, the Maruti Suzuki WagonR, and three motorcycles, the Hero MotoCorp Splendor Plus Flex Fuel, HF Deluxe Flex Fuel, and Suzuki Gixxer SF 250, currently on the market, replicating Brazil's flex-fuel success appears to be a daunting challenge.

Flex-fuel vehicles account for around 90% of new car sales in Brazil, Vikram Gulati, Country Head & EVP, Corporate Affairs & Governance, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, told BT in June. The average national ethanol blend in Brazil has risen to as much as 50% with FFVs, he said.

Though the automobile industry and testing agencies are already testing higher ethanol blends such as E25 in non-compatible vehicles, Gulati said the government may not have to increase the base ethanol blending rate of E20 with the introduction of FFVs.

With FFVs, concerns around corrosion and mileage loss also get resolved, according to Gulati. “It’s a no-brainer solution for our country. It’s the best for all stakeholders: consumers, oil marketing companies, government, ethanol producers and automakers,” he said.