Toyota Corolla Altis introduced as India's first car with flex-fuel engine

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today (October 11) officially took the covers off India's first car with a flex-fuel engine. The model is a Corolla Altis sedan from Toyota Motor with a hybrid powertrain. After introducing the car, Gadkari took a round in the Toyota flex-fuel Corolla Altis. The model used for the event is a left-hand drive Corolla Altis. It is part of a pilot project to promote Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles in India as Centre is pushing for alternative fuel for vehicles to reduce pollution as well as costly oil imports.

This is the second time that the Centre has picked the Japanese auto giant as part of its experiments with alternative fuel. Earlier, Gadkari had introduced another pilot project by Toyota by showcasing India's first Hydrogen powered vehicle Mirai.

The Corolla Altis will come with a flex-fuel engine that is compatible with petrol, ethanol as well as electric powertrain. At its heart is a 1.8-litre ethanol ready petrol-hybrid engine. It will be able to run on fuel that has ethanol-blending between 20 per cent and up to 100 percent. The flex engine can generate an output of 75.3 kW of power and 142 Nm of peak torque. The car is also equipped with a 1.3 kWh hybrid battery pack and the electric motor offers an output of 53.7 kW and 162.8 Nm of peak torque. The engine comes mated to a CVT Hybrid Transaxle transmission system.

While introducing India's first flex-fuel car, Gadkari said that instead of running on only one type of fuel, the flex-fuel vehicle will run on petrol and up to 83 percent ethanol-mixed fuel. Toyota Motor is not the first auto major to introduce a vehicle that is powered by flex-fuel engines. Gadkari said that two-wheeler manufacturers like TVS, Bajaj and Hero MotoCorp are ready with ethanol-powered vehicles as well.