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Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter
Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries vehicles are compatible with E20 fuel blend, contrary to claims by management at the vehicle manufacturer that they cannot take more than E10, The Herald has established. According to a Mazda 3 manual from WMMI seen by The Herald, the vehicles can actually use E20 fuel.

The manual says the Mazda vehicle can use petrol blended with oxygenates such as alcohol.
“The common petrol blend that can be used with your vehicle is ethanol blended at no more than 20 percent,” reads the manual. “Petrol containing alcohol such as ethanol or methanol may be marketed under the name “Gasohol”.

“Vehicle damage and drivability problems resulting from the use of the following may not be covered by the Mazda warranty; Gasohol containing more than 20 percent ethanol, petrol or gasohol containing methanol, leaded fuel or leaded gasohol.” Some of the countries listed on the manual that use blended fuel include Israel, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Libya.

An official from a company that bought a Mazda 3 at WMMI told The Herald that they had used blended fuel without any problems.
“We bought the vehicle from Willowvale Mazda Motor Industries in Zimbabwe and it has done over 40 000km on E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent petrol) with absolutely no problems,” said a source.

Contacted for comment, WMMI managing director Engineer Dawson Mareya distanced his organisation from the manual.
“That is not our manual and as I have said, we are not going to comment on that anymore,” he said.

Eng Mareya recently told The Herald that WMMI would not warranty vehicles that used more than E10 if they developed engine or emission system challenges.

He was reacting to the Government’s gazetting of mandatory E15.
Government argued that such blending levels were safe and would reduce the country’s fuel import bill.

Nissan Zimbabwe last year, expressed discomfort over the use of blended fuel beyond E10 levels. It said if that percentage was to be exceeded, Nissan products would have fuel injection components changed and various rubber components installed into the fuel systems to cater for a higher ethanol blend. But the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority chief executive, Engineer Gloria Magombo, said there was nothing wrong with E15.