Pune, July 4 -- Vehicles running on E20 fuel showed a 2 to 6 per cent drop in fuel consumption compared with E10 fuel in controlled tests conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) along with vehicle manufacturers, ARAI Director Dr Reji Mathai said in an exclusive interview with ANI.

Explaining the findings of the study, Dr Mathai said the tests were designed to isolate the impact of the fuel blend under controlled laboratory conditions.

"The studies were done along with the OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), the vehicle manufacturers who understand their vehicles very well, to assess the impact of E20 compared to E10," he said.

"We understand that ethanol as a fuel has a slightly lower calorific value. So t...