Toyota To Unveil First Flex Fuel Car On Sep 28, 2022 | V3Cars

For the first phase, we can expect the government to bring E20 or E15, which is 20% or 15% ethanol additive in the petrol. Since we can produce ethanol from plant-based products like sugarcane, this move will help us cut down our dependence on crude oil imports.

Currently, the volatile crude prices and the prevailing foreign exchange rates greatly affect the commodity prices in India and add to inflation as shipping costs go up. With a partial ethanol blend, we can expect inflation to remain largely in control. However, we won’t start seeing the benefits of such moves in a year or two. A regular petrol vehicle is not compatible with flex fuel. So, it’ll take 5-10 years before we start seeing stability in fuel prices with a growing number of flex-fuel vehicles entering the market. The flex-fuel cars and scooters will also help cut down emissions as ethanol is less polluting than petrol-only vehicles.

The government had banned sugar exports in May 2022 in an attempt to stockpile the supplies for the coming months so that a large chunk of the sugarcane produce can go towards ethanol production.

The minister also said that their department is experimenting with adding ethanol to diesel engines. If the ministry succeeds in making flex-fuel diesel vehicles at minimal additional costs, then we can see commodity prices stabilise in the long term as the shipping industry still largely depends on diesel fuel.

Earlier this year, Mr. Gadkari had said that Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Hyundai are already working on flex-fuel vehicles and we can expect these cars to go on sale starting in 2023.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, And Hyundai Likely To Launch Flex-fuel Cars Soon

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What Are Flex-fuel Engines?

Flex-fuel engines are engines that are capable of running on a mixture of two fuels, like a mixture of petrol and ethanol or petrol and methanol. These engines adjust the air-fuel ratio and other technical aspects to run efficiently. Due to the different properties of ethanol, flex-fuel engines use different materials for the internals to avoid corrosion. This is because using ethanol fuel in a non-compliant engine could lead to more wear and tear, and corrosion under long-term use.

How Is Ethanol-based Fuel Beneficial?

Ethanol is produced by fermenting and distilling crops and grains. Crops like sugarcane, corn, rice straws and wheat are commonly used for the production of ethanol fuel. Ethanol not only helps reduce a vehicle’s carbon footprint and overall emissions but also reduces the dependency on fossil fuels like petrol. Flex-fuel engines are now widely used in the Brazilian market and some of them are capable of handling up to E85 fuel. 

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