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Informist, Thursday, Jun. 4, 2026

 

--Maruti Suzuki MD: Long-term dependence on imported oil can't be option 

--CONTEXT:Maruti Suzuki MD, CEO Takeuchi speaking at launch of flex fuel car 

--Maruti Suzuki ED: Building roadmap for clean, green India with new vehicle 

--Maruti Suzuki launches Wagon R flex fuel 

--Maruti Suzuki MD: Running research projects on hydrogen as fuel 

 

NEW DELHI – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the country's largest carmaker, is actively conducting research projects on hydrogen, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Hisashi Takeuchi said Thursday at the launch of the WagonR flex fuel, India's first passenger vehicle in the category. "So we have identified compressed biomass as a very powerful measure for carbon net zero. Therefore, we are making a strategic investment in CBG as a fuel option. To start with, we have announced nine CBG plants, out of which two are already operational," he said.

 

Takeuchi stressed that long-term dependence on imported crude oil couldn't be an option. India needs solutions that are cleaner, affordable, scalable, and based on the country's own strengths, he said, adding that the challenge was large, which no single technology could solve alone.

 

The chief executive reiterated Maruti Suzuki India's commitment to a multi-pathway strategy for cleaner mobility, including electric vehicles, strong hybrid options, and compressed natural gas. Large-scale adoption of flex-fuel will take time and effort from all stakeholders, he said. An entire ecosystem needs to be developed, from fuel availability to more model launches, from customer awareness to fuel and vehicle pricing, he added. "In the absence of an ecosystem, it is the responsibility of the market leader to take the first step and encourage others."

 

According to Takeuchi, the benefits of flex fuel go beyond the automobile sector to support the economy, society, environment, farmers, ethanol producers, and larger rural ecosystems. 

 

Last month, Informist had reported the automotive major would launch flex-fuel-compliant WagonR this month, built on the same platform as the petrol-run variant. Flex-fuel cars are equipped with engines that can run on standard petrol, pure bioethanol, or any blend of the two in a single, common fuel tank. 

 

According to the Informist report, the flex-fuel-compliant WagonR would be priced up to 20% higher than existing variants. Maruti Suzuki did not reveal the pricing of WagonR flex fuel at the launch event.

 

Last month, Maruti Suzuki had said it would hike prices of all its cars by up to INR 30,000 to offset pressure arising from surging input costs.

 

For the March quarter, Maruti Suzuki reported a net profit of INR 35.91 billion on revenue of INR 524.49 billion. At 1409 IST, shares of the company traded 0.7% higher at INR 13,131 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

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

 

Reported by Shakshi Jain, Priyasmita Dutta, and Sagar Sen

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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