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Informist, Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

 

MUMBAI – E85 biofuel will be substantially cheaper than petrol once available, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri Wednesday said at the launch of Hero MotorCorp Ltd.'s flex-fuel motorcycles. He pointed that India could save big on foreign exchange, reduce oil imports, and provide another source of income to farmers if just 1% of annual petrol vehicle sales in India shifts to E85. In this context, the government is actively evaluating supportive policy frameworks to accelerate affordable adoption of flex fuels, he said.

 

Puri further said that if E85 fuel is priced appropriately lower compared with E20 fuel, consumers can recover the cost of their vehicles in approximately three years by saving on fuel prices. Wednesday, Hero MotoCorp launched the Splendor+ Flex Fuel and HF Deluxe Flex Fuel. Both motorcycles are compatible with ethanol-blended fuels ranging from E20 to E85. These are India's first flex-fuel motorcycles in the 100 cubic centimetres segment, according to the company's press release.

 

Puri said the launch marks India's entry into mass-market flex-fuel mobility with "Aatmanirbhar" vehicles. He highlighted that India has an active two-wheeler fleet of over 300 million vehicles. "The flex-fuel technology has the potential to transform mobility," he said.

 

Puri said that the future of India's mobility ecosystem will combine electric vehicles, biofuels, hydrogen, and renewables. He highlighted that India currently imports nearly 88.5% of its crude oil requirement. Thus, geopolitical disruptions can threaten the country's economy and energy security. Puri underscored how flex-fuel vehicles are a practical pathway for India to reduce its crude oil imports. They can also strengthen the country's rural economy through their demand for ethanol feedstock and push for low-carbon mobility. 

 

India is looking to expand its mobility and ethanol blending capacity, which is currently at 20%, up from 1.4% in 2014, the minister said. This would help reduce India's energy import bill and provide an additional source of income for farmers.

 

He said if 1% of annual petrol vehicle sales in India during the ethanol supply year 2026-27 (Nov-Oct) shifted to E85, it would create a demand for 40 million litres of ethanol and result in INR 2.66 billion in payments to distilleries. This small shift to E85 fuel will allow India to save INR 1.95 billion in foreign exchange and reduce crude oil imported by around 28,000 metric tonnes. Puri highlighted that around INR 1.6 billion would flow directly to Indian farmers, instead of going out of the country for oil imports.

 

E-85 flex fuels offer several benefits, such as lower vehicle manufacturing cost, minimal infrastructure spending, and a faster rollout than the electric vehicle network. Flex fuel vehicles depend on homegrown biofuels and avoid battery-related emissions, thereby having a lower carbon footprint. Further, demand for flex fuels would provide immediate income support to our farmers through increased demand for ethanol.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Shruti Nair

Edited by Akul Nishant Akoury

 

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