Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to unveil new ethanol-powered Toyota Innova today: What you need to know

Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is about to introduce a new version of the Toyota Innova car. This special Innova runs on something called 'biofuel ethanol,' which is a type of fuel made from plants. He will reveal this new car that uses ethanol as its fuel at 12 PM today. You can stream the launch event live via the YouTube embed placed at the end of the story.

Ethanol powered car

You might wonder, what's special about this car? Well, this Toyota Innova will be the world's first kind of car that runs on electricity and biofuel together. The biofuel it uses is called ethanol, which is completely derived from plants. It's known as "E100." 

Last year, Nitin Gadkari introduced a car called the Toyota Mirai EV that runs on electricity made from hydrogen. The minister has time and again focused on making cars that can run on alternate, more eco-friendly fuels. Gadkari believes that switching to using these special fuels is a big step for India. He started thinking about using biofuels back in 2004 when the prices of regular fuel were getting really high and even went to Brazil to learn more about using green energy.

It is not just the environmental aspect that makes the new plant-based fuel a lucrative option for India. Gadkari thinks that biofuels can help India become more self-reliant by reducing dependence on fuel imports. 

Also read: BPCL to add 165 EV charging corridors by March; to add 7.5 bn litres of ethanol capacity

Indian car makers have retracted their focus from diesel-driven cars and have refocused it on either electric or hybrid cars. In terms of EVs, Tata Motors is leading the pack with multiple EV options and with more to join soon. Mahindra has also introduced the XUV400 which is an all-electric compact SUV. Maruti Suzuki, the country's biggest carmaker is focused on bringing hybrid options to the market with the new Grand Vitara which is an electric hybrid. Toyota and Honda are other manufacturers that are offering Hybrid powertrains. 

Also read: How ethanol production in Haryana will curb pollution in Delhi