New Delhi, leading vehicle company Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Thursday introduced India’s first flex-fuel car, the ‘Wagon R’, which is specially designed to be compatible with ethanol-blended fuel. This car can run on any fuel mixture from E20 petrol to E100 (nearly pure ethanol). It features an advanced engine control unit (ECU) that can automatically adapt to varying amounts of ethanol in the petrol.
Maruti Suzuki said in a statement that offering flex-fuel technology in its popular model ‘WagonR’ aligns with national goals of energy security and sustainable growth. On this occasion, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that India imports large quantities of crude oil every year, and biofuels like ethanol are an important means to reduce this dependence.
Gadkari said, ‘Flex-fuel vehicles can benefit farmers, industry, and the environment by creating a strong and stable demand for ethanol.’ Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, present at the event, said that India’s ethanol journey is ‘not going to stop’ and that it has helped farmers transform from ‘food providers’ to ‘energy providers.’
Puri said that flex-fuel vehicles will reduce crude oil imports, save foreign exchange, lower emissions, and also strengthen the rural economy. Company Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said that the company is committed to offering models based on various technologies and fuels such as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrids, CNG/CBG, and flex-fuel, in order to achieve the dual goals of reducing oil imports and carbon emissions.
