Mercedes India Goes E25-Ready Before The Government Even Sets A Date
Mercedes-Benz India has confirmed that every car it has sold since the start of 2026 is compliant with E25 petrol, the 25 percent ethanol blend that the government is currently testing but has not yet notified for nationwide rollout. The move comes months after E20 became mandatory in April 2026.
What was announced
Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer confirmed to ET that every Mercedes sold in India since the start of 2026 is engineered to run on E25 petrol, which contains 25 percent ethanol. Iyer framed the upgrade as pre-emptive: the portfolio is ready in case the central government notifies E25 as the next fuel standard.
Mercedes has quietly future-proofed every India car for a fuel standard the government has not even notified yet. That is what a serious luxury brand looks like.
The context matters. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas mandated nationwide E20 (20 percent ethanol blend) with effect from April 2026, part of the broader push to cut India's crude oil import bill and absorb domestic sugarcane and grain-based ethanol output. Testing on E25 has begun at government and OEM labs, but no notified timeline exists for its commercial rollout at fuel stations.
Mercedes-Benz India also indicated that customer demand is tilting further towards electric and hybrid powertrains, and that the company expects stable luxury car sales this year with single-digit volume growth. The E25 readiness applies across the ICE line-up, from the entry A-Class-derived sedans through the GLA, GLB and GLC SUVs up to the S-Class and GLS flagships. No other luxury carmaker in India, including BMW, Audi, Volvo or Lexus, has publicly confirmed E25 compliance across its full India range as of this announcement, making Mercedes the first mover on this specific compliance question in the luxury segment.
The Car Jury verdict
Mercedes moving to E25 before Delhi has even fixed a date is smart insurance, not virtue signalling. E20 only became mandatory in April 2026, and older engines across the market are already coughing up complaints about fuel efficiency drops and rubber component wear. By certifying the entire India portfolio for E25 in advance, Mercedes protects resale values and dodges the retrofit mess that mass-market brands will eventually face.
For buyers eyeing a GLA, GLB or GLC this year, that is one less asterisk on a 60-lakh-plus purchase. Rachit Hirani of MotorOctane has already flagged the incoming S-Class plug-in hybrid as the more interesting Mercedes story of the year, and he is right: fuel compliance is the floor, electrification is the ceiling. Mercedes is quietly clearing both.
