E100 Flex-Fuel Rule Change Explained: What It Means For Car Owners

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to formally allow flex-fuel vehicles to run on E100. The fuel is essentially pure ethanol. The change, notified under G.S.R. 911(E) on October 23 and published in the Gazette on October 26, updates Rule 115 to replace references to E85 with "E85 or E100" across emission and testing provisions.

What The Rule Actually Changes

The amendment doesn't open E100 to every petrol car on the road. It expands the range of fuels that specially designed vehicles can be certified to use, with an explanatory note making clear that E85 or E100 can only be used in vehicles designed and certified by OEMs as Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).

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A conventional petrol car approved for E20, petrol with 20 per cent ethanol, cannot be filled with E85 or E100. The notification also standardized standard petrol blends as E10/E20, aligning emission testing protocols with the current pump reality.

Why This Matters Now

India hit its 20 per cent ethanol blending (E20) target in 2025, five years ahead of the original 2030 deadline under the National Policy on Biofuels. Since April 1, 2026, E20 has been the mandatory standard petrol available across all regular fuel pumps nationwide, effectively phasing out pure petrol and E10 blends.

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Automakers have been manufacturing E20-material-compliant vehicles since April 2023, and the regulatory formalisation of E10 and E20 blends firmly aligns the emission testing framework with what's actually available at pumps.

Following the initial rollout of E85 fuel promotion at select IOCL retail outlets in mid-2026, passenger vehicle OEMs like Maruti Suzuki and Toyota, alongside major two-wheeler manufacturers, now have the definitive homologation pathway to launch their flex-fuel vehicles.

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What It Means For Car Owners

For most car owners, nothing changes immediately; your E20-compliant petrol car still runs on E20, and E100 remains off-limits unless your vehicle is specifically designed and certified as a flex-fuel vehicle. The amendment is significant as India seeks to expand ethanol use in transport and reduce dependence on imported crude oil, but it applies specifically to vehicles designed by manufacturers for such fuels.

As of now, India has only one flex-fuel car, the Maruti Suzuki WagonR flex-fuel model. Other manufacturers like Tata Motors, Kia, and Toyota intend to launch flex-fuel cars in the future, including models like Kia Syros FFV, Toyota Hycross hybrid flex-fuel, and more. Among two-wheelers, Hero MotoCorp launched flex-fuel versions of the Splendor+ and HF Deluxe in June this year. Meanwhile, the Suzuki Gixxer was already on sale in the country for a while.