Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari was present during the launching.
New Delhi. Leading automobile company Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Thursday launched India’s first flex-fuel car ‘Wagon R’, which is specially designed to be compatible with ethanol blended fuel. This car can run on any blend of fuel ranging from E20 petrol to E100 (almost pure ethanol). It is equipped with an advanced engine control unit (ECU), which can adapt itself to the different amounts of ethanol in petrol.
Maruti Suzuki said in a statement that the introduction of flex-fuel technology in its popular model ‘WagonR’ is in line with the national goals of energy security and sustainable growth. On this occasion, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said that India imports a large amount of crude oil every year and biofuels like ethanol are an important means of reducing this dependence.
Gadkari said, “Flex-fuel vehicles can benefit farmers, industry and the environment by creating strong and stable demand for ethanol.” Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who was present at the event, said that India’s ethanol journey is ‘not going to stop’ and it has helped farmers transform from ‘annadata’ to ‘urjadata’.
Puri said flex-fuel vehicles will also strengthen the rural economy by reducing crude oil imports, saving foreign exchange and reducing emissions. Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, said that the company is committed to introducing models based on various technologies and fuels such as Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), Hybrid, CNG/CBG and Flex-Fuel, to achieve the twin goals of reducing oil imports and carbon emissions.
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