Nitin Gadkari asks automakers to make flex fuel vehicles more acceptable to public

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday, chaired a review meeting with representatives of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) to discuss the readiness of the automobile industry for ethanol and flex fuels.

Discussions were held on readiness of the industry to launch flex engine vehicles that can run on ethanol in the coming months, the ministry said in a tweet after the meeting.

“Minister Gadkari also engaged in an insightful discussion on how a shift to biofuels from fossil fuels will aid India in being #AtmaNirbhar (self-reliant), reduce pollution and annual import of fossil fuels, and helps consumers receive fuels at lesser price, all while benefiting our farmers,” it said.

As per the tweet, Gadkari urged Siam members to look into ways of making these flex fuel vehicles more acceptable to the public, citing Brazil’s successful integration of flex fuels and biofuels in its transportation.

The minister had earlier said that automakers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Toyota Motors have decided to launch flex-engine cars while two-wheeler makers like TVS Motors, Bajaj Auto, and Honda are ready with ethanol bikes and waiting for the requisite infrastructure to be put in place, including ethanol pumps, to launch their bikes.

According to Gadkari, India’s fossil fuel economy stands at Rs 22 lakh crore while the bio fuel economy is merely Rs 2 lakh crore. “There is a huge scope for expansion and it is a win-win situation for all stakeholders,” he had said. Gadkari noted that at a time when parts of the world are at war with themselves, and geopolitical uncertainties plague, India’s annual fossil fuel import bill at Rs 22 lakh crore does not augur well and there is a need for the country to be self-reliant on fuels. “This will boost the agricultural economy, increase farmers’ income, create new jobs and make India atmanirbhar,” he had said on Monday at the Bioenergy summit by CII.