Maruti Suzuki Planning Flex Fuel Engines For India

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, is one of those companies that do not have an immediate plan of jumping on the EV bandwagon. The carmaker has repeatedly observed a stance that it will start selling electric cars in India once the technology is economically feasible. This is despite the fact that the company has been testing 50 units of WagonR electric in India for quite some while now. Instead of focusing on EVs, Maruti Suzuki aims to increase the share of cleaner technologies like CNG and hybrid powertrains.Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, has confirmed that they are planning to introduce flex-fuel in its lineup. Along with petrol and CNG, flex-fuel will be their third option on offer. A flex-fuel engine can basically run on two types of fuel, either standalone or a blend. Maruti is planning to introduce ethanol-powered flex-fuel vehicles. Usually, a blend of petrol and ethanol is used but many cars in Brazil and USA can run on 100 percent ethanol.The benefit of this fuel is that it has significantly less harmful emissions as compared to conventional petrol-powered vehicles. And one of the main components -- ethanol -- is produced sustainably, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. It would be a while before we see flex-fuel Maruti cars as it is still in the research and development stages. If introduced, this would give customers another option to consider from the regular petrol or CNG options as Maruti has confirmed diesel models won’t make a comeback anytime soon.However, the company noted that it will take customer demand for flex fuels into consideration before introducing flex-fuel vehicles. And as for a timeline, Maruti Suzuki isn't sure if it will launch a flex-fuel vehicle in India next year.