Maruti Suzuki was the first automaker to announce the discontinuation of diesel cars from the Indian market. In fact, the company has completely cease the production of the BSVI diesel engine which was planned to be re-introduce with bigger models. It is reported that Maruti Suzuki is looking at ethanol-powered flex-fuel vehicles for the Indian market.
Speaking to AutoCarIndia, Kenichi Ayukawa, managing director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “We are preparing EVs and also pursuing ethanol, the government has announced flex-fuel and so we are developing those kinds of vehicles for the future.”
He further stated that the company has just started studying the ethanol powered vehicles, and it will take time. Maruti Suzuki is currently selling petrol as well as CNG powered vehicles in the country. The company plans to introduce a wide range of CNG powered vehicles as an alternative to diesel cars. With rising fuel prices, MSIL is also looking at different and more costs-effective fuel options.
This comes after the recent appeal by Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, who requested automakers to start rolling out ethanol-powered vehicles in the market. He urged automakers to roll our flex-fuel vehicles capable of running up to 100 percent ethanol or petrol.
The flex fuel engines can run on 100 percent petrol or ethanol. It is already available in countries like Brazil, USA and Canada. It is basically an internal combustion engine that can run on multiple fuels and also a mixture. However, Suzuki is not selling cars in these markets and does not have flex-fuel engines.
