‘New draft rules for E85 and E85 coming soon as government pushes for ethanol transition, more vehicles
While the Ministry of Road Transport notified the “applicability of testing requirements” for vehicles that can run on E5 to E85% fuel in December 2022, a draft notification was issued on June 27, 2025 to replace the E85 condition with “E85 or higher”. But the final notice was not issued within the stipulated six months, and the procedure lapsed. It was during this period that the debate erupted about the impact of ethanol blends on vehicle range and increased maintenance requirements.TOI understands that the focus is now back on promoting alternative fuels in view of the current crisis in West Asia and the government will issue a new draft notification to seek feedback from stakeholders before implementing the scheme.Although most automakers have unveiled FFV prototypes, commercial production has yet to begin. Starting with E20, engines designed to run on E100 can run on lower ethanol blends.Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has held two rounds of meetings with automakers on FFVs.The Times of India reported on March 30 that OEMs in the first round had expressed the need to address consumer concerns, especially reducing fuel costs, given the lower mileage of ethanol-fuelled vehicles.The industry seeks a clear roadmap for petrol stations that will dispense ethanol, compensate for lost mileage (around 27-30% less than petrol) and encourage people to buy FFVs (given the price of these fuel cells). Last year, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri wrote to FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeking GST parity between FFVs and electric vehicles. Currently, the GST on FFVs is 28%, while the GST on electric vehicles is only 5%.
