Flex Fuel Vehicles offer India a practical solution to reduce crude oil imports, strengthen the rural economy through ethanol demand, and advance low-carbon mobility, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri said during the Launch of Hero MotoCorp’s First Flex-Fuel Motorcycle in New Delhi, today. Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari was also present during the event.

Sh. Puri described the launch as a new chapter in India’s energy history, with the introduction of new motorcycles compatible with ethanol blends from E20 to E85. He added that the launch of the Splendor+ and HF Deluxe Flex Fuel motorcycles marks India’s entry into mass-market flex-fuel mobility with Aatmanirbhar vehicles. ‘भारत की बाइक, भारत का ईंधन!’

India has one of the world’s largest two-wheeler ecosystems with an active two-wheeler fleet of over 300 million vehicles. The flex-fuel technology has the potential to transform mobility at an unprecedented scale.

Today’s historic launch is a defining moment in India’s mobility and ethanol blending quest which was at just 1.5% in 2014 and has now achieved 20% blending, even as we look beyond, the minister further added. It will help reduce our energy imports bill and continue to provide an additional source of income to our farmers who have become Urjadatas from only being the country’s Annadatas.

Minister said that India's future mobility ecosystem will combine EVs, biofuels, hydrogen and renewables in a manner suited to Indian realities. He noted that India currently imports nearly 88.5% of its crude oil requirement, making the economy and energy security vulnerable to geopolitical disruptions.

The ethanol blending program of Government of India, since ESY 2014-15 has saved India ₹1.84 lakh crore in foreign exchange,  resulted in 302 lakh metric tonnes crude oil substitution and 909 lakh metric tonnes reduction in CO₂ emissions. The significant output is that the program has added ₹1.58 lakh crore earnings to farmers turning our Annadatas to Urjadatas.

The Minister said that even 1% adoption of annual petrol vehicle sales in India during ESY 2026-27 would generate a demand for 4 crore litres of ethanol in which payments of about ₹266 crore will be made to distilleries and save us ₹195 crore in foreign exchange . This would lead to reduction of approximately 0.28 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil imports, and a net CO₂ reduction of nearly 0.86 lakh metric tonnes.

Importantly, around ₹160 crore would flow directly to Indian farmers, instead of going out of the country for oil imports. He said the impact would become transformational as flex-fuel technology scales across India’s vast two-wheeler ecosystem.

E-85 Flex fuels offer several benefits such as lower vehicle manufacturing cost, minimal infrastructure capex, faster rollout (~10-15x faster than EV network). Electric vehicles are also highly import dependent for battery components, and generate significant upstream carbon emissions.

In contrast , Flex fuel vehicles depend on homegrown biofuels and avoid the battery related emissions, making them Completely Atmanirbhar and resulting in lower carbon footprint. Further, Flex fuel demand would provide immediate income support to our farmers through increased demand for ethanol feedstock.

Sh. Puri further stated that Flex-fuel mobility must also make economic sense for consumers. Studies indicate that if E85 fuel is priced appropriately lower  compared to E20, consumers can recover the cost of the vehicle within approximately three years through fuel savings achieved due to the lower price of fuel. The Minister added that the Government is  actively examining supportive policy frameworks to accelerate affordable adoption.

Addressing common misconceptions about Flexi Fuel, the Minister clarified that India’s E20 rollout followed extensive testing by SIAM, ARAI, IOCL and vehicle manufacturers. Global experience, including Brazil’s successful adoption of higher ethanol blends, which I had the opportunity of witnessing during my posting to Brasilia between 2006-2008, demonstrates that flex-fuel mobility is proven, scalable and reliable, the minister further added.

Sh. Puri congratulated Hero MotoCorp for taking a pioneering step in this national journey. The company's new motorcycles are equipped with internal combustible engines and upgraded fuel systems that can operate on any blend of petrol and ethanol from E20 to E85.

The minister added that supportive policies, including fuel pricing support and targeted incentives can speed up adoption, create affordability and position India  as a global leader in flex- fuel mobility solutions.

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TM

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