Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, is one of those individuals who have been pushing car manufacturers and the public to use greener fuels and switch to electric cars. He is an advocate of ethanol and has also implemented it. In India, we currently get petrol that is a 20 percent ethanol mix. This has several positives as well as negatives, but we’ll talk about that some other time. Now, a video of Nitin Gadkari has surfaced online, where he is seen showing his flex-fuel-powered Toyota Innova HyCross hybrid MPV.
The video has been shared by Jist on their YouTube channel. In this video, the anchor is seen talking to the Union Minister about the cars in his garage. The anchor mentions that he has interviewed politicians who use expensive cars like Range Rovers in their garages. However, Nitin Gadkari has a different approach to this, as he is a person who likes to promote environmentally friendly solutions for mobility. He shows a Toyota Innova HyCross in his garage. It is probably one of the recent additions to his garage.
He mentions that this is one of the only BS6 cars in the world that is capable of running on 100 percent ethanol. He talks about the benefits of ethanol in the video too. He mentions that this is sourced locally from farmers, which brings down the cost of production. It is way cheaper than regular petrol and also reduces the overall running cost.
He can be heard saying that using ethanol is also eco-friendly, as it does not emit toxic gases from the exhaust. He mentions that this is the hybrid version of the Innova HyCross and it is even more feasible as it offers better fuel efficiency. He mentions that the Innova HyCross seen here in the video is completely capable of running on 100 percent petrol and 100 percent ethanol. One can easily switch between the fuel types, and the car won’t face any issues.
He speaks about two-wheeler manufacturers who are working on flex-fuel engine options, and the government is already offering such fuels through petrol pumps across the nation. He also mentions a conversation with the finance minister about tax reduction on vehicles that are capable of using flex-fuel options. He mentions that using ethanol will bring down our fuel imports, and we can also sell the fuel at a cheaper price. He also claims that Indian Oil is currently working on extracting aviation-grade fuel from ethanol using the stubble that is normally burned by farmers after the crop. Stubble burning is a major issues in North India during winters and this could actual solve the pollution issue to some extent.
The video also gives a glimpse of the Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car in Nitin Gadkari’s garage. It uses a hydrogen fuel-cell-powered 4JM electric motor, which generates 182 bhp of power and 300 Nm of torque. The Mirai also has a single-speed automatic transmission and a 1.2 kWh lithium-ion battery, along with three hydrogen tanks, which have a collective range of 647 km. Nitin Gadkari also bought a brand new BMW iX electric SUV last year.