New Delhi, June 4 (IANS). Maruti Suzuki on Thursday launched WagonR Flex-Fuel, the first vehicle to run on flex-fuel in India. This vehicle has been introduced at a time when petrol and diesel have become expensive due to the increase in crude oil prices. This will help the country transition towards clean energy.
The new model is capable of running on ethanol-petrol blends ranging from E20 to E100, making it the first passenger vehicle in India designed to run on 100 percent ethanol.
The company said the launch is in line with India’s broader efforts to reduce dependence on conventional petrol and increase the use of biofuels in the transportation sector.
The launch event was attended by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, who spoke about the government’s continuous efforts to promote clean transportation solutions.
He said the government is planning to introduce 15 percent isobutanol blended diesel as part of its alternative fuel strategy.
Gadkari urged automobile companies like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Hero MotoCorp to convert old vehicles into flex-fuel models and make them conform to stricter emission standards, including Euro 6 standards.
He said such measures would help reduce air pollution and support vehicle scrappage programs aimed at removing older, more polluting vehicles from the roads.
Speaking at the launch, Gadkari described the automobile sector as a major growth driver of the Indian economy and said India now has the world’s third largest automobile industry, which contributes significantly to the GDP.
Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director and CEO of the company, also revealed that the company is investing in compressed biogas (CBG) projects and exploring other clean technologies such as hydrogen fuel.
At the same time, the company’s senior executive officer of marketing and sales, Partho Banerjee, said that in the last financial year, almost half of the green vehicles sold in the industry were from Maruti Suzuki.
–IANS
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