Tuesday, August 29, 2023
By Kamal Swami
World’s First Ethanol-Based Vehicle Unveiled In India
The Japanese carmaker Toyota today launched the world’s first electrified flex-fuel-based MPV Innova Hycross in India. The MPV was launched at an event by the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari. The flex-fuel-based Innova Hycross will not only run on alternative fuel but will also run on electric mode by generating its electric power. The Innova Hycross is in the preliminary stage and compatible with the Bharat Stage 6 (Stage 2) emission norms.
According to sources, the Innova Hycross MPV will fully run on ethanol, a type of fuel extracted from plants. The ethanol is graded E100, indicating that the vehicle runs fully on the alternative fuel. Along with this, the MPV will also come equipped with a lithium-ion battery capable of generating power to let the car run in electric mode. The company has however not revealed the time of bringing this model for sale.
Speaking about the looks of Innova Hycross, it is almost identical to its hybrid version with minor changes. The engine is tuned to run on E100-grade ethanol. The integration of a lithium-ion battery helps the MPV to run on an electric model. The hybrid version of Hyross gets power from a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine that churns the power of 181 bhp and delivers an average of 23.24 kmpl. The transmission duties are performed by an e-CVT transmission system.
Addressing the event, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways Authority, Nitin Gadkari, said, that the use of alternative fuel will help to control the increasing cost of importing crude oil. He also added, that the use of alternative fuels also helps to control pollution and carbon footprint. In the words of Gadkari, “ 40 per cent of pollution in our country comes from vehicular pollution”. The people of the country’s capital New Delhi, suffer badly from vehicular pollution. The government of India has aimed to encourage the use of ethanol-based petrol in the country by 2025.
