Nitin Gadkari Green Flags Toyota’s Pilot Project Flex Fuel Strong-hybrid Car

• Toyota launched the Corolla Altis flex fuel strong-hybrid car.
• Flex fuel is a blend of petrol and ethanol, and it’s cheaper than regular fuel.
• It is to promote the use of flex fuel vehicles.

Today, Toyota India has launched the pilot project for its flex fuel strong-hybrid car. This one of a kind project was flagged off in the presence of Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways. The launch car used for this project is the Corolla Altis strong-hybrid sedan.  

The main motive behind this study is to promote the use of flex fuels and make them more mainstream in the country. It’ll help in reducing emissions, for which the automobile industry is one of the highest contributors in the country. As you must be knowing, flex fuel cars emit lesser than a standard vehicle. Also, flex fuels are much cheaper than regular petrol. 

Today our dream has come true...!
Launched India’s first Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) which would run on 100% petrol as well as 20 to 100% blended ethanol and electric powertain with... pic.twitter.com/QmsrnXD1Qx

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) October 11, 2022

For those new to flex fuels, it is a blend of two fuels, in this case petrol and ethanol (or methanol). It is also referred to as biofuel as ethanol is a form of alcohol that is sourced from sugarcane, bamboo, among others. So the advantage of an engine that supports flex fuels is its capability to run either on just pure petrol or blended fuel. The Corolla, in this case, is capable of running on 100% petrol or 20-100% on blended ethanol and electric power.

Earlier, Nitin Gadkari said that he was planning to bring flex fuels to India in order to reduce emissions. And during the event, he said that India can easily manufacture flex fuels in the country as it would provide more opportunities to farmers. When it would be implemented is yet to be seen though, and this project is in its nascent stages of testing cleaner fuel.  

Toyota isn’t the only one making noise about flex fuel cars in India, as Maruti Suzuki had earlier said it was planning to introduce flex fuel engines. Earlier, Toyota also launched another project study about hydrogen fuel cell cars by launching the Mirai project car.