India's most popular vlogger slams E20 petrol: Sourav Joshi's Mercedes average ‘down to 5 kmpl’ | Watch

INdia’s top out day-to-day vlogger, Sourav Joshi, has raised serious concerns o'er the public presentation of his luxuriousness vehicle, attributing a drastic drop in fuel efficiency to the growing prevalence of ethanol-blended petrol in the country.In a recently uploaded video log on his YouTube channel, titled ‘Race With Brothers. Kon Jeetega ?’, the content creator with over 41 million subscribers voiced his frustration while showing live dashboard metrics inside his Mercedes-Benz luxury SUV.Joshi, who operates out of Haldwani, Uttarakhand, said his vehicle's efficiency has plummeted to an unprecedented low within a span of just 48 hours .“Yesterday I showed you our car's mileage had gone from 17 straight down to nine,” Joshi told his audience. “And do you know what it has become today? Today it has reached five... Look at this, it's showing a mileage of five,” he added.It was not clear if he was talking about fuel average over time, or real-time data that can fluctuate drastically as per driving conditions and other factors. The company-claimed fuel average of the Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4MATIC (Petrol), priced over ₹80 lakh, is around 15 kmpl.Full video below: Joshi speaks of E20 after the 4-minute mark Joshi pointed the blame towards the fuel available at local filling stations. “This is what has happened because of ethanol,” he asserted.His co-vlogger and wife, Avantika Bhatt, also chimed in: “We spent so much money on this car!”He said a full tank of petrol, which historically yielded a driving range of approximately 800 kilometres, now displays an estimated range of only 480 kilometres upon refilling. He said the sharp drop has made him concerned about the potential mechanical damage to the petrol engine in the German SUV.“I don't know when this car will break down... Nowadays I'm so scared of refilling petrol,” he said.He also spoke of how he has a G-Wagon, another Mercedes SUV, in electric variant that keeps him away from the ethanol worries.He also noted that mechanical faults in a premium vehicle can lead to severe logistical issues for residents of suburbs and smaller towns.“It is a Mercedes after all. I'll have to send it to Delhi if a problem arises… Not only is petrol expensive, but if it breaks down, the repair costs are huge," he said.The clip from the video also went viral on X and Instagram. What govt saysIndia has been aggressively pushing for a 20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol mandate (E20) across fuel stations to curb carbon emissions and reduce crude imports. However, Joshi’s viral complaints highlight a growing undercurrent of anxiety among car owners regarding the compatibility of older engines with high-ethanol fuels.Major automakers and Union ministers have ought to address the public concern.During a company roundtable, Santosh Iyer, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, stated, “We've seen a lot of anxiety, with a lot of customers asking us and our dealerships.” However, Iyer said that their vehicles sold since 2020 are natively engineered to handle ethanol mixtures, pointing instead to illicit fuel tampering at regional pumps as the real issue. Iyer claimed, “We have seen increased fuel adulteration happening under the garb of E20.”He further urged policymakers to “ideally offer multiple fuel grades during the transition, giving owners of older vehicles the option to choose”.The government has strongly defended the alternative fuel policy, dismissing widespread claims of engine damage as exaggerated online misinformation.Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport, rejected allegations that the fuel causes corrosion, calling viral social media posts a “false narrative”. He challenged critics to bring forward concrete proof. “There is no case of any car facing issues due to E20 petrol... What is being circulated on social media is part of a concerted false narrative,” he said.Earlier, another prominent online influencer and Jan Suraaj Party leader, Manish Kashyap from Bihar, had said his new Toyota SUV was damaged by E20. But the company and the government dismissed those concerns as misplaced, though not naming him as such.Gadkari did concede that the lower calorific value of ethanol marginally impacts fuel economy under certain conditions. To assist older vehicle owners, he said, car manufacturers will replace damaged parts, mainly washers, in older vehicles using E20 fuel at no extra cost during servicing. Union oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri also dismissed claims of engine degradation as a “misinterpretation”. His ministry emphasised that while older vehicles might see a 3-5% reduction in fuel economy due to the inherent properties of the blend, E20 remains a thoroughly tested, safe, and scientifically validated alternative essential for boosting India's energy security.The government and PM Narendra Modi himself have repeatedly said the ethanol blending programme is a critical tool to shield India from the volatility of global oil markets as India imports most of its crude oil. It also helps farmers as ethanol is made from sugarcane and other crops, Gadkari has said,