Govt eyes flexible-fuel vehicles’ faster rollout

NEW DELHI: The ongoing West Asia conflict and concerns over energy supplies have prompted govt to explore faster rollout of flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which can run on blended petrol as well as 100% ethanol. At a meeting called by the petroleum ministry on Saturday, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) flagged the need to address consumer concerns, particularly regarding the need to lower fuel costs as vehicle mileage decreases when using ethanol, for faster adoption.

People aware of the developments said since major car and two-wheeler manufacturers have their prototype FFV models ready, now govt needs to create the ecosystem for adoption of these vehicles. Govt has maintained that 20% ethanol blending in petrol has helped India save imports of around 4.5 crore barrels (700 crore litres) of crude annually.

Officials and industry sources said that FFVs are more viable option than increasing ethanol blending in petrol, as higher blending levels would impact performance of existing vehicles. A person aware of the discussions said, the meeting focused on enabling conditions for FFVs.

TOI has learnt that the industry sought clear road map about the fuel stations that would dispense ethanol, compensation for mileage loss, which is around 27%-30% less than petrol. “Industry made a clear point that consumers should not feel ‘cheated’ for buying such vehicles on account of less mileage ,” said a person who attended the meeting. Last year, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri had written to FM Nirmala Sitharaman seeking GST parity of FFVs with EV. Currently, the GST for FFVs is 28% compared to 5% for EVs.
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