Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has introduced the Toyota Corolla Altis Hybrid, the country's first-ever FFV-SHEV trial project.
The goal of the pilot project is to evaluate the viability of hybrid vehicles in India that can run on ethanol-powered flex fuel vehicles in order to minimise pollution as well as permit the use of ethanol in electric-hybrid vehicles in order to lessen reliance on gasoline and diesel. A two- or four-wheeled vehicle that can run on either gasoline, ethanol, or a combination of the two is known as a flex fuel vehicle.
Worldwide, ethanol is a cleaner alternative to gasoline, and blending ethanol with gasoline lowers fuel costs while simultaneously reducing pollutants.
Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport for the Union, stated that pollution is a major issue in India and that the transportation industry is a contributor to it. Therefore, he continued, "it is important to promote the use of electric vehicles as well as vehicles that operate on biofuels like ethanol and methanol."
Worldwide, ethanol is a common alternative fuel, with Brazil having the highest average blending at 48%. The next 40 days would be the most challenging for Delhi, according to Bhupendra Yadav, the Union Environment Minister, as a result of stubble burning in neighbouring states. By using machinery, we can manage 24 lakh tonnes of stubble this year, Yadav continued.
The government of India is promoting use of flex fuel vehicles and has started production of flex fuel in India, designated as E95, E90, E85 depending on the percentage of petrol as against the percentage of ethanol mix.
As for the Toyota Corolla Altis Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV), it is powered by a 1.8-litre ethanol ready petrol-hybrid engine.
