Nitin Gadkari to launch world's first ethanol-run Toyota Innova car on Aug 29

The road transport minister has been encouraging carmakers to design and develop vehicles which use alternative fuels, are more environment friendly, and thus, have a smaller carbon footprint.

Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari will unveil a version of Toyota Innova, which runs entirely on biofuel ethanol, on August 29. Early this month, the minister had announced at a sustainability conclave that he will launch the electric flex-fuel Toyota Innova MPV, which is entirely fueled by ethanol - a fuel which comes from plants - indicated by "E100".

According to a company statement by Toyota, the ethanol-fueled variant of Toyota Innova will be the world's first BS-VI (Stage-II) electrified flex-fuel vehicle. Last year, Gadkari introduced the Toyota Mirai EV, which runs on purely hydrogen-generated electricity.

Transition to green energy

The road transport minister has been encouraging  carmakers to design and develop vehicles which use alternative fuels, are more environment friendly, and thus, have a smaller carbon footprint. Last year, he introduced the Toyota Mirai EV, which runs on purely hydrogen-generated electricity.

Gadkari believes the transition from introducing E10 to now developing E100 cars within a short time span is a significant milestone for India. At the conclave, the minister had further shared that he started taking interest in biofuels in 2004, when India was witnessing soaring petrol prices, following which he travelled to Brazil to further explore the green energy sector.

Biofuels - the necessary medium for a self-reliant, cleaner India

According to him, biofuels have solid potential, as well as can aid in curbing costs related to petroleum import. Gadkari, who has been vocal in nudging car manufacturers to make alternative fuel-powered and green vehicles, has time and again stressed on the necessity to cut down oil imports and make India "atmanirbhar", echoing the Narendra Modi-led government's vision of making the nation self-reliant across all domestic sectors. The current import cost for petroleum is Rs 16 lakh crore, resulting in significant economic loss for the country, according to Gadkari.

In the past, powerful hybrid cars, including Toyota Innova Hycross, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Maruti Suzuki Invicto, Honda City Hybrid, and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder were introduced to the Indian car industry. Auto behemoths, including Mahindra and Tata, are working towards manufacturing vehicles which have no carbon footprint over the next few years.