Maruti Suzuki on Thursday launched the country’s first flex-fuel passenger vehicle, the Wagon R Flex Fuel, as the Centre unveiled plans to roll out nearly 5,000 flex-fuel fuel stations across major cities by end-2027 to support the next phase of the ethanol mobility programme.
Launching the vehicle, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the government would begin with 50-100 dispensing stations in the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-Pune-Nagpur corridors before expanding the network to around 500 outlets by December 2026 and approximately 5,000 outlets by the end of 2027.
The infrastructure rollout comes as the government looks to create demand for higher ethanol blends after achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol five years ahead of target. Ethanol blending has risen from less than 1.5% in 2013-14 to 20% in 2025-26, while procurement has increased from around 380 million litres to more than 10.4 billion litres. Production capacity has expanded from 4.21 billion litres in 2014 to around 20 billion litres in 2026.
Economic Rewards
Puri said the government was also working on a broader flex-fuel ecosystem that includes pricing support for E85 fuel, road-tax concessions, consumer awareness campaigns and expansion of storage and dispensing infrastructure. Government estimates suggest that if 50% of new passenger vehicle and two-wheeler sales shift to flex-fuel compliant models, annual ethanol demand could increase by an additional 3.118 billion litres, generating Rs 12,403 crore in additional farmer income while reducing carbon emissions by 6.64 million metric tonnes.
The policy push gathered momentum this week with Hero MotoCorp launching flex-fuel variants of its Splendor and HF Deluxe motorcycles, followed by Maruti’s entry into the passenger vehicle segment. Puri said the participation of the country’s largest passenger vehicle maker and largest two-wheeler manufacturer marked an important milestone for ethanol-based mobility.
Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said flex-fuel technology could contribute to India’s twin objectives of reducing crude oil imports and lowering emissions, but added that the country’s transition to cleaner mobility would require multiple technologies working together rather than relying on a single solution.
Beyond the Grid
The company continues to pursue a multi-pathway strategy spanning electric vehicles, hybrids, compressed natural gas and flex-fuel vehicles. Maruti expects CNG and biogas-powered vehicles to account for around 35% of its sales mix by FY31, while conventional internal combustion engine vehicles and hybrids are projected to contribute about 25% each.
Takeuchi said large-scale adoption of flex-fuel vehicles would depend on the development of a supporting ecosystem, including wider fuel availability and additional vehicle launches. The Wagon R Flex Fuel is capable of operating on ethanol blends of up to 100%, marking Maruti’s first production-intent flex-fuel offering after showcasing prototypes at recent mobility exhibitions.
