00:00This is India's first E85 petrol pump.
00:02But is E85 actually more cost-efficient than regular fuel?
00:05Let's find out.
00:06E85 fuel costs Rs.82 a litre.
00:09That's Rs.20 cheaper than regular E20 petrol available at pumps.
00:12But the biggest challenge for E85 is energy density according to a KPMG report.
00:17Ethanol contains around 20-30% less energy per litre than petrol.
00:20So vehicles running on high ethanol blends consume more fuel to travel the same distance.
00:25To test this claim, Autocar ran an E85 compatible Suzuki Gixxer over an 80km route in Delhi.
00:30Once on E20, once on E85 under similar conditions.
00:33The result, E85 cost Rs.2.85 per kilometre against Rs.2.68 on E20.
00:39The cheaper fuel at the pump turned out to be the more expensive option on the road.
00:43But this math could change.
00:44Similar tests showed E20 is cheaper per kilometre today.
00:47But that calculation rests on current petrol prices.
00:50India imports around 85% of its crude oil.
00:52So if global crude prices rise, petrol gets more expensive.
00:55Ethanol being domestically produced could effectively be cheaper despite being less efficient.
01:00In Brazil, E85 has proved to be a success.
01:02But they are doing some things differently.
01:04Experts say that Brazilians choose ethanol because it costs significantly less than petrol.
01:09In India, E85 is priced around Rs.82 against regular petrol at Rs.102, a gap of roughly 20%.
01:15Experts say that's not enough.
01:17For E85 to shift consumer behaviour in India, the way it did in Brazil,
01:21the price differential needs to be greater.
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