Rs 25 fuel cost? Gadkari says 100% ethanol cars could launch in October
The government has achieved its 20% ethanol blending target in petrol, and higher-ethanol vehicles are now being developed by major automakers.
New Delhi: A car that runs entirely on ethanol and has a running cost equivalent to petrol priced at around Rs 25 per litre could hit the Indian market in October, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.
He made the announcement while speaking about ethanol-based vehicles and the government's efforts to promote alternative fuels. He said that he had been invited to the launch of a Toyota Innova capable of running on 100% ethanol. The vehicle uses an electrified flex-fuel powertrain.
The minister said, "I have a Toyota Innova that runs entirely on ethanol. Compared with petrol, its running cost works out to around Rs 25 per litre."
The Rs 25 cost refers to the vehicle's running economics rather than the retail price of a litre of ethanol. Gadkari's statement means the cost of operating the ethanol vehicle could be comparable to running a petrol car with fuel priced at about Rs 25 per litre.
Toyota Innova's ethanol technology
Toyota has been working on ethanol-based flex-fuel technology in India for several years. In August 2023, Toyota Kirloskar Motor unveiled an Innova HyCross-based electrified flex-fuel vehicle. The prototype combined a flex-fuel engine with a strong-hybrid electric system and was developed to operate on ethanol blends beyond E20.
The minister has now said the 100% ethanol version is expected to be launched in October. Toyota has not separately announced an October commercial launch on its India website, so the launch timeline comes from the minister's statement.
Gadkari also said several manufacturers are working on 100% ethanol-compatible flex-fuel vehicles. "Next month, 100 per cent ethanol flex-fuel vehicles from companies such as Tata, Suzuki, Toyota and Mahindra will be coming to the market," he said.
What is a flex-fuel vehicle?
A flex-fuel vehicle has an engine that can run on different ethanol-petrol mixtures. A vehicle developed for 100% ethanol can use pure ethanol as its fuel, subject to the specifications and certification for that model.
India's existing petrol blending programme across the country is based on E20, which contains 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. The government says average ethanol blending reached 20% during the 2025-26 Ethanol Supply Year. E85 fuel, which contains 85% ethanol and 15% petrol, has also been introduced for certified flex-fuel vehicles.
The Centre's biofuel policy had originally set a 20% ethanol blending target for 2030. The deadline was later advanced to the 2025-26 Ethanol Supply Year. According to the Petroleum Ministry, ethanol blending has risen from less than 1.5% in 2013-14 to 20% in 2025-26.
Gadkari's pitch for ethanol and farmers
The minister, on different ocassions, has associated ethanol production with higher farm incomes and lower dependence on imported crude oil. He said the country has around 4 crore cars and 20 crore two-wheelers and argued that greater use of domestically produced ethanol could reduce fuel imports.
He also talked about maize prices and said, "When we started procuring maize for ethanol production, it was priced at Rs 1,200 per quintal. The price has now risen to as much as Rs 3,600 per quintal."
The government has allowed more feedstocks to be used for ethanol production, including sugar-based products, maize, damaged foodgrain and surplus rice. Ethanol production capacity has grown from 421 crore litres in 2014 to about 2,000 crore litres in 2026, according to the Petroleum Ministry.
It has also stated that the ethanol blending programme generated payments to farmers and reduced the need for imported petrol. Between 2014 and September 2024, the programme was credited with more than Rs 92,409 crore in payments to farmers and foreign-exchange savings of more than Rs 1.08 lakh crore.
Minister talks about electric, hydrogen vehicles
Gadkari used the event to talk about other alternative-fuel technologies. He said electric cars, buses and scooters have become popular and said that electric tractors are being used on his farms.
"I have five electric tractors. They can be charged in one-and-a-half hours and run for eight hours. This has helped me save a lot of money, and my fuel bill has come down to zero," he claaimed.
He also said he has a hydrogen-powered car and that hydrogen buses and trucks would be introduced later.
India has reached its 20% ethanol blending target and is now developing vehicles that can use much higher ethanol concentrations. The government has said that any move to increase the countrywide petrol blending level beyond 20% would require scientific and technical studies along with consultations with automobile manufacturers, oil companies and research institutions.