Kolkata: In Kolkata’s automobile showrooms, the petrol car pitch has changed sharply. Until April, sales executives say buyers wanted to compare touchscreen sizes, airbags, sunroofs and crash-safety ratings. Since May, the first question is increasingly about E20 petrol, engine life and mileage.Dealers estimate that nearly one in three potential petrol car buyers in the city is either postponing a booking or asking for more time before making a decision. The hesitation follows confusion over the use of petrol blended with 20% ethanol and its possible impact on cars, particularly models not originally designed for higher ethanol content.“Earlier, customers asked how safe the car was or whether it had the latest features. Now most of the discussion is on E20 — whether the engine will be damaged, whether warranty will apply and why mileage has fallen,” said a sales executive at a leading Kolkata dealership.The impact is visible in sales. At one outlet, May 2026 sales were nearly half of May 2025 levels with hatchbacks taking the worst hit. Executives at dealerships of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda and Renault said the concern is sharper for brands whose sales depend heavily on petrol-powered models. The pressure is relatively lower for Mahindra and Tata Motors outlets, where diesel and electric options provide alternatives to customers wary of petrol.The unease has spread beyond Kolkata after a consumer commission in Raipur directed Maruti Suzuki to replace a customer’s Grand Vitara with an E20-compatible vehicle or refund about Rs 20.5 lakh plus related charges. Maruti Suzuki has said it will challenge the order, maintaining that the vehicle damage was caused by contaminated fuel and not E20 petrol.Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s statement that motorists unwilling to use E20 could opt for 100% petrol at a much higher price has further unsettled buyers. Pure petrol is priced around Rs 161 a litre, compared with about Rs 106 a litre for E20.“For a middle-class buyer, that price difference is not practical. They are asking whether they should buy now, wait for clarity, or shift to another fuel option,” said a functionary of the Automobile Welfare Association, a platform representing sales executives at various auto dealerships in West Bengal.Dealers say the hardest concern to address is mileage. Several customers report a sharp drop in fuel efficiency after switching to E20. One Hyundai Grand i10 Nios user, dealers said, reported city mileage falling from 13-14 km per litre to 8-9 km per litre.“We do not have long-term evidence to reassure buyers fully,” the association functionary said. “That is making every petrol car sale much harder.”
