Toyota Altis flex fuel strong hybrid unveiled by Union minister Nitin Gadkari

In an attempt to further explore the alternatives to combustion-engined vehicles, recently Toyota Kirloskar Motor launched a pilot project on Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technology in Delhi. Under this new project, at the launch, the Indo-Japanese automaker unveiled a Toyota Corolla Altis FFV-SHEV, imported from Toyota Brazil.

The inauguration of this pilot program was held in New Delhi with the presence of the chief guest, Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways.

 

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Is it a car launch?

Sorry, no. It is more in the nature of a test project. The objective is to examine whether ethanol-powered fkex fuel cars are a viable solution in India.

On paper, it makes sense. India can produce a lot of ethanol, and a car engine that can run on a mix of ethanol and petrol will be much more economical and non-polluting than a pure petrol car. Brazil already does this well.

However, it all depends on how determined the government is to enact the policy changes that will enable it. It would mean encouraging ethanol production on one side, creating distribution systems and then incentivizing car makers to produce cars with flex-fuel engines. How likely is all that? Your guess is as good as ours!

Other guests present at the launch of the project were Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister of Heavy Industries, Bhupinder Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change and Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas – Government of Delhi along with other key government dignitaries, high-ranking diplomats, industry leaders. From Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Masakazu Yoshimura, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Vikram S Kirloskar – Vice Chairman, Vikram Gulati – Executive Vice President and Sudeep S. Dalvi – Senior Vice President and Chief Communication Officer were also present at the monumental occasion.

According to Toyota Kirloskar India, with the help of this initiative, the company is taking its first step toward promoting and raising awareness of ethanol as a significant domestic energy source that is carbon neutral. Together with Toyota’s advanced Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology, ethanol has the potential to help India become truly self-sufficient and contribute to the country’s goal of Carbon Net-Zero by 2070 said the company.

Additionally, as a part of this initiative, the reputed Indian Institute of Science will get the data obtained in order to perform a more thorough investigation of the well-to-wheel carbon emissions of FFV and FFV-SHEV in the Indian setting. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, also inked a Memorandum of Understanding in this respect. TKM will continue its unrelenting efforts and contribute to future developments by sharing sustainable technical advancements in the field of green mobility because it is a pioneer in electrified technology and because it is a good corporate citizen, added Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited.

The FFV-SHEV has the lowest Well-to-Wheel (W2W) carbon emissions of any technology in the nation, according to Toyota. The combination of an electric drivetrain and a Flexi Fuel engine in an FFV-SHEV allows it to run for extended periods of time in its EV mode, which shuts off the engine, resulting in a dual advantage of increased ethanol consumption and improved fuel economy.

Flexi-engine vehicles may run on a variety of fuels or a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol. This is furthered by the FFV-SHEV Corolla Altis, which has a hybrid-electric drivetrain for an even more environmentally friendly ride and can operate on 100 percent ethanol. Because a Flexi-engine can vary the fuel and air mixture according to demand with the use of composition sensors, it can run on a variety of fuels.