Mercedes-Benz Proposes to Shift Its Cars to Biodiesel in India

(Biofuels International) German automaker Mercedes-Benz is probing the possibility to shift its diesel cars and other vehicles in India to biodiesel.

"Mercedes has given me a letter that they can use 100% biodiesel in their cars and buses," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told the India Times nespaper.

"Mercedes India chief has told me that the standards which we have prescribed for biodiesel can be easily used to power their motors," he said.

As per a recent government draft notification on use of biodiesel, newly manufactured vehicles fitted with compression ignition engine compatible to run on diesel or mixture of biodiesel up to 100% biodiesel will be type approved as per the prevailing diesel emission standards.

India’s National Policy on Biofuels has proposed a 20% blending ratio for both biodiesel and ethanol by 2017.

However, Gadkari's ministry decided to allow 100% biodiesel for vehicles, citing its low pollution level and lower reliance on imported crude fuel. READ MORE and MORE (LiveMint)

Excerpt from LiveMint: Mercedes Benz on Tuesday (July 19, 2016) ruled out using biodiesel to power its cars and other vehicles in India. The German luxury car maker clarified that it never committed any such possibility to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari.

“We have meetings on several occasions. We talked about a hundred per cent availability of Bharat Stage-VI in all vehicles with him and his people. He must have misunderstood that as introducing biodiesel, which at the moment, we have no possibility and no attention to do,” Mercedes Benz managing director and chief executive Roland Folger said. READ MORE