Ethanol-based fuel: TVS Motor and others to shift to flex-fuel vehicles? All you need to know

Ethanol-based fuel: In India, the push to switch from ICE to ethanol-based vehicles is likely to come from the two-wheeler market, where the first flex-fuel two-wheeler is likely to come out in the next two years. Monday, at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) Ethanol Technology Exhibition in Delhi, the CEO of TVS Motor hinted that flex-fuel vehicles might be available by 2024. Nitin Gadkari, a union minister, was there when the announcement was made. Gadkari has been trying to get automakers in India to switch to cleaner fuels based on ethanol in order to cut pollution and stop relying on expensive fuel imports.

WagonR was one of the first flex-fuel cars

KN Radhakrishnan, the CEO of TVS Motor and the chairman of SIAM's council on two-wheelers, said, "We are all working under the aegis of SIAM on a plan to bring flex-fuel vehicles to the market. From October to December 2023, we will all show off a pilot version of two-wheelers that can run on a variety of fuels. And by September or October 2024, each manufacturer will have mass-produced at least one flex-fuel two-wheeler model. Automakers like Honda Motorcycle, Bajaj Auto, Scooter India, Hero MotoCorp, and, Suzuki Motorcycle India, Yamaha Motor India, and Royal Enfield were there in addition to TVS Motor. WagonR, a car made by Maruti Suzuki, was one of the first flex-fuel car prototypes to be shown.”

Gadkari spoke at the event and stressed again how important it is for the industry to switch to fuel made from ethanol. The (wide) fluctuations in crude oil prices every year are causing a lot of trouble... We need to move toward a world where all cars are able to run on different kinds of fuel. Gadkari said, "We are trying to get a lot of businesses to start making ethanol." He also said that the use of fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel is responsible for 40% of pollution in India.

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India's Ethanol Blending Programme has gotten a lot of help from Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. The deadline for automakers to make cars that meet E-20 standards is April 1, 2023. Maruti Suzuki has already said that it plans to make all of its products compatible with E20 fuel by March 2023. By 2025, all cars and trucks must meet E-20 standards.

Adopting ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions

Vinod Aggarwal, president of SIAM and CEO and Managing Director of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, said, "We are now on track to start rolling out E20-compliant vehicles in April 2023 and making E20-tuned engine vehicles in April 2025. The Indian auto industry has developed products to make this change possible." Adopting ethanol will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions but will also help the country become less dependent on imports and save valuable foreign exchange. This is in line with SIAM's goal of "Building the Nation Responsibly."

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India is one of the biggest oil importers in the world, and every year it spends a lot of money on oil. Fuel prices have reached an all-time high in the past few months. Ethanol-based gasoline is one way to lower costs and reduce reliance on expensive imports. At the same time, fuels made from ethanol are cleaner than gasoline and diesel.

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