Toyota Fortuner that can run on 100 % Ethanol unveiled in Indonesia: India launch next?

The Japanese automotive giant, Toyota Motor Corporation, recently unveiled the most innovative variant of its highly popular SUV, called the Fortuner Flexi Fuel. This all-new model was displayed at the 2023 Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show, the largest auto show in Indonesia. This year, Toyota took the covers off the 100% biofuel-powered Fortuner Flexi Fuel. Reports around the interwebs have suggested that this eco-friendly variant of the Fortuner could be making its way to the Indian subcontinent.

From the outside, this particular Fortuner was shown at the auto show in white color with green wrap on the front, bottom, and rear sections of the vehicle. This green was done to highlight its eco-friendly nature. Apart from that, the car was the same as the model currently on sale in India. Coming to the biggest change of this car, it was its fully optimized flex-fuel-ready engine.

Toyota has retained the 2.7-liter naturally aspirated petrol motor of the petrol-powered Fortuner. However, it has extensively worked on the fuel system of this vehicle to enable it to work with 100 percent biofuel like ethanol. Additionally, the company has also reprogrammed the Engine Control Unit (ECU) to adapt to the corrosive nature of ethanol fuel. Now, coming to the power figures of this new ethanol-powered engine, the company claims that it produces around 163 bhp of power and 243 Nm of torque. These power figures are just slightly lower than their petrol-powered counterpart. This engine was mated with an automatic transmission.

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As of now, there are no concrete reports that have indicated whether this vehicle will be launched in India or not. However, it has been stated that if the company does decide to mass-produce this variant of the SUV, then most likely it will be making its way to India. From our perspective, it makes a lot of sense to bring this version of the Fortuner to India as it is one of the most popular cars that the company sells in the country. Also, it is the single most popular SUV in the full-size ladder-on-frame segment, as no other SUV can match its sales figures in India.

Recently, the Union Minister of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, also announced that he will be launching the all-new 100% ethanol-powered variant of the highly popular Innova Hycross hybrid MPV. Presently, the information on this 100% ethanol-powered Innova Hycross is scarce, but it could come powered with the same powertrain as this Fortuner Flexi Fuel. The only addition will be the Hybrid Electric System to this powertrain. Both of these cars follow the Toyota Corolla Altis FFV-SHEV, which was showcased back in October. This car was imported from Brazil and shown as part of its pilot project on Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology in Delhi.

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