A 100% ethanol car is expected to be launched in India in October, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said at an event in Delhi, describing the vehicle as a petrol-free option with a running cost equivalent to petrol priced at around Rs 25 a litre.
Gadkari said he had been invited to the launch of Toyota’s Innova flex-fuel car, which he said would run entirely on ethanol. He also claimed that the vehicle would generate 60 per cent electricity while running, although the report did not provide further technical details about how that generation would work or how it would affect the car’s operation.
The announcement comes amid continuing debate over India’s E20 petrol policy, which blends 20 per cent ethanol into petrol. The policy has faced questions from sections of the public and lawmakers over possible effects on fuel efficiency, engine performance and maintenance costs, particularly for older vehicles that were not designed for higher ethanol blends.
Gadkari said there had been no complaints from vehicles using ethanol-blended fuel in India so far. The government has previously said it has not received widespread or confirmed complaints from vehicle manufacturers, automobile associations or consumer groups about E20’s effect on mileage, engine health or maintenance costs. It has also cited laboratory studies and field trials on engine durability and material compatibility in support of the blending programme.
Flex-fuel vehicles are designed to run on a range of ethanol-petrol mixtures, from E20 to pure ethanol. Toyota’s proposed Innova would therefore extend the technology beyond vehicles that can use blended fuel, allowing operation on 100 per cent ethanol if the fuel is available. The report did not specify the vehicle’s launch price, fuel consumption, production scale, availability across cities or the locations where pure ethanol would be sold.
The minister’s comments also placed the vehicle announcement within the government’s wider effort to promote alternatives to petrol and diesel. Gadkari has repeatedly supported flex-fuel, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, while linking ethanol production to farmer incomes. At a separate event related to Madhya Pradesh’s new public bus service, he said ethanol was turning farmers into energy providers and pointed to an increase in maize prices after ethanol production began.
India’s ethanol policy is intended to increase the use of domestically produced fuel while reducing dependence on petrol. For urban motorists, however, the practical effect of a 100% ethanol vehicle will depend on the availability and pricing of the fuel, vehicle compatibility, servicing requirements and the number of refuelling stations able to supply it. The report did not provide a nationwide rollout schedule or details of the infrastructure planned for pure-ethanol distribution.
The announcement follows Maruti Suzuki’s launch of what the report described as India’s first flex-fuel passenger car in June. Gadkari also called for wider adoption of app-based bike taxis, saying existing two-wheeler owners could use the service to earn additional income without fresh investment. The minister said state transport ministers had been asked to consider opening the option to people in villages, but the report did not specify which states had approved such services.
Gadkari’s October invitation is the next stated milestone for Toyota’s ethanol-only Innova. Further details on the launch, technical specifications, pricing and fuel availability are expected when the company formally presents the vehicle.
