India could see a new wave of ethanol-compatible passenger vehicles within the next two months, with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari saying Mahindra, Toyota, Suzuki and Hyundai are expected to introduce flex-fuel models capable of operating on petrol or 100% ethanol.
Speaking at the HT Auto Leaderboard Awards and Summit 2026, Gadkari said the expected launches form part of the government’s wider strategy to reduce fossil-fuel import dependence while creating additional demand for agricultural feedstocks.
“Mahindra, Toyota, Suzuki and Hyundai will probably launch flex engines within one to two months, in which you can use 100% ethanol or petrol,” Gadkari said, according to Hindustan Times.
The comments come after Maruti Suzuki introduced the WagonR Flex Fuel in June 2026. The model is compatible with ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E100, making it the first passenger vehicle in India positioned for 100% ethanol operation.
Automakers prepare for higher ethanol blends
India’s ethanol strategy has so far been centred on blending ethanol with petrol, with E20 representing petrol containing up to 20% ethanol. Gadkari has increasingly linked the next phase of the programme to vehicles specifically engineered to operate with higher ethanol concentrations.
At the HT Auto event, he defended the country’s E20 rollout, saying millions of four-wheelers and two-wheelers had been using E20 since 2022 without complaints being received by the government.
The transition towards flex-fuel vehicles changes the demand equation because vehicles capable of using E100 can provide consumers with the option of using substantially higher ethanol concentrations where the fuel is available.
The commercial availability of such vehicles, however, will also depend on fuel availability, vehicle pricing, servicing infrastructure and the development of a reliable supply chain for high-ethanol fuels.
Ethanol policy links transport with agriculture
Gadkari also highlighted the agricultural implications of India’s ethanol programme, particularly the government’s decision to permit corn as a feedstock for ethanol production.
According to figures cited by the minister, the commercial price of corn increased from ₹1,300 per quintal to ₹2,600 per quintal after the policy change. He said the increase had generated a direct benefit of ₹45,000 crore for farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The figures were presented by Gadkari in the context of his broader argument that agricultural production can increasingly serve both food and energy markets.
His position is consistent with earlier statements in which he has described ethanol, biofuels, compressed biogas, electric mobility and hydrogen as alternative pathways for reducing India’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. The minister has repeatedly cited an annual fossil-fuel import bill of about ₹22 lakh crore.
For the biofuel sector, greater deployment of flex-fuel vehicles could therefore create an additional demand channel beyond mandated petrol blending, although the scale of any resulting ethanol demand will depend on vehicle adoption, fuel economics and consumer behaviour.
EVs remain a parallel pathway for India’s transport transition
Gadkari also discussed electric mobility at the event, putting the potential size of India’s EV market at ₹20 lakh crore by 2030.
He cited one crore annual vehicle sales and potential employment generation of five crore jobs as part of that projection. According to figures presented by the minister, electric two-wheeler sales increased 146% year on year in FY26, while electric passenger vehicles recorded 65% growth.
The minister also pointed to measures intended to support domestic EV manufacturing, including lower customs duties on lithium-ion batteries and the PM E-DRIVE scheme.
Gadkari again referred to the estimated six-million-tonne lithium resource in Jammu and Kashmir, which he has identified as strategically important for domestic battery manufacturing. The same six-million-tonne estimate and a 6% share of global reserves were also cited by him in Parliament in December 2025.
CBG and agricultural residue remain part of the alternative-fuel strategy
Alongside ethanol and electric mobility, Gadkari highlighted compressed biogas (CBG) as another route for converting agricultural residues into transport fuel.
He referred to CBG plants using agricultural stubble as feedstock, linking their deployment to both fuel production and efforts to address air pollution associated with residue burning.
The minister has previously called for greater use of agricultural and industrial feedstocks to produce CBG, ethanol, bio-manure and sustainable aviation fuel, arguing that these applications could help retain more value within India’s agricultural economy while reducing fossil-fuel imports.
Vehicle safety and recycling also feature in Gadkari’s roadmap
Gadkari also discussed developments outside alternative fuels, including the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP), which provides safety ratings for passenger vehicles.
He said crash testing in India can cost about ₹60 lakh per model compared with around ₹2.5 crore for testing internationally, representing a claimed 75% cost reduction. He also cited vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology, which he said could potentially reduce road crashes by 80%.
The minister further called for greater investment in the vehicle-scrapping ecosystem. He said recovery of steel, copper and aluminium from end-of-life vehicles could reduce component manufacturing costs by as much as 30% and create around seven million jobs.
