Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Thursday launched India’s first flex-fuel car, Wagon R, engineered specifically for ethanol-blended fuel compatibility.

A flex-fuel car gives the flexibility to customers to run on any blend of ethanol and petrol from E20 to E100.

The car comes with advanced ECU calibration capable of adapting to any ethanol blend between E20 (20 per cent ethanol-blended petrol) to E100 (which would allow vehicles to run on nearly pure ethanol).

Maruti Suzuki in a statement said it is introducing flex-fuel technology in the Wagon R, a favourite brand that has long pioneered alternate fuel vehicles in the country, including CNG and LPG.

With the launch of India's first flex-fuel car, Maruti Suzuki said it is bringing innovation aligned with national energy security and sustainability goals.

Speaking at the launch event, Road Transport and Hghways minister Nitin Gadkari said India imports a large quantity of crude oil every year, and biofuels like ethanol are an important pathway towards reducing this dependence while strengthening our rural economy.

"Flex-fuel vehicles can create a strong and sustainable demand for ethanol, benefiting our farmers, industry, and the environment together," Gadkari added.

The minister said he is confident that the initiative will encourage other car manufacturers to launch their flex-fuel models and oil industry to enhance ethanol distribution infrastructure.

Also, speaking at the event, Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India's ethanol journey is unstoppable.

"We have transformed our farmers from 'annadatas' to 'urjadatas', while strengthening India's energy security," Puri said.

The minister said flex-fuel vehicles are a win-win for the nation -- reducing crude oil import dependence, saving valuable foreign exchange, lowering emissions, and creating new opportunities for rural prosperity.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited Managing Director & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said, "At Maruti Suzuki, we are committed to offer cars with multiple technologies and fuels." He said the company is introducing BEVs, Hybrids, CNG/CBG and ethanol flex-fuel vehicles to meet India's twin goals of reducing oil import and carbon emissions.

According to him, the ecosystem for ethanol as a fuel in India is in its early stages.

In addition to a significant reduction in oil imports, flex-fuel vehicles can also help to boost farmer income, he added.