E100 cars get regulatory green light today ahead of planned launches

Govt allows registration of flex-fuel vehicles running on 85% to 100% ethanol-blended petrol

NEW DELHI: Government on Monday notified a change in Central Motor Vehicles Rules, allowing flex-fuel vehicles that can run on upto 100% ethanol blended petrol. This comes barely months before some of the car manufacturers are set to launch their E100 models.An official said the amendments update the emission provisions by including E100 alongside E85. Officials said E85 and E100 are "intended only for vehicles specially designed and certified to use it and will not be applicable for other vehicles. Vehicles that use E20 or normal fuel can't use E85 or E100 fuel. This notification doesn't require owners of existing vehicles to switch to E85 or modify their vehicles either at present or in future.

"Officials said Flex Fuel technology is used in countries such as Brazil and the US. These vehicles are specially designed to operate on a range of ethanol and petrol blends using a single tank fuel. Depending on the vehicle's design and certification, this range may extend to E85 or E100, a fuel predominantly consisting of ethanol.Officials also said that ethanol has lower fossil carbon footprint than conventional petrol and the use of higher ethanol blends can help reduce tailpipe emission of carbon monoxide (CO) and certain hydrocarbons. Greater ethanol use will also reduce dependence on import of crude oil.