Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday unveiled a 100 per cent ethanol-fueled variant of Toyota’s Innova HyCross car in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minster Mahendra Nath Pandey, MD & CEO of Toyota Masakazu Yoshimura , MD & CEO of Kirloskar Systems Limited Geetanjali Kirloskar, Ambassador, Diplomats from Japan Embassy, higher officials and advisors. This car is said to be the world’s first BS-VI (Stage-II), electrified flex-fuel vehicle.
Speaking on the occasion Gadkari said Ethanol being an indigenous, eco-friendly, and renewable fuel holds promising prospects for India. He said the emphasis of the Modi Government on ethanol aligns with objectives of attaining energy self-sufficiency, doubling farmers’ income, transitioning them to Urjadata while continuing to support them as Annadata, and positively impacting the environment. He said the day ethanol economy becomes of 2 lakh crores agricultural growth rate will reach 20% from the current 12%. Talking about innovations in biofuels Shri Gadkari spoke of refinery in Numaligarh in Asssam of Indian Oil Corporation where bamboo is being used for manufacturing bio ethanol.
Gadkari said this innovative vehicle is based on the Innova Hycross and is engineered to adhere to India’s stricter emission standards, marking it as the first-ever BS 6 (Stage II) Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle prototype globally. He said the forthcoming stages for this prototype encompass meticulous refinement, homologation, and certification processes.
𝐘𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲!
Launched the 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐒 𝟔 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐈𝐈 ‘𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐅𝐮𝐞𝐥 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞’,… pic.twitter.com/eRR1kM03Pb
— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) August 29, 2023
This launch aligns with the government’s aim of reducing India’s reliance on imported petroleum and transitioning away from traditional fossil fuels.
According to the Toyota’s statement, the ethanol-fueled variant of Toyota Innova will be the world’s first BS-VI (Stage-II) electrified flex-fuel vehicle. Notably, Gadkari had previously unveiled the Toyota Mirai EV, a hydrogen-fueled electric vehicle, last year.
Also there has been a demand to boost the use of flex-fuel vehicles. Recently, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) urged the government to levy 5% GST (Goods and Service Tax) on flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), the same as that on electric vehicles (EVs), which would speed up the process of adopting ethanol blending with petrol as fuel for automobiles.
