Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, alongside Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, witnessed the launch of Hero MotoCorp's Splendor+ and HF Deluxe Flex Fuel motorcycles capable of running on ethanol blends ranging from E20 to E85. Announcing the development on X on 3 June 2026, Puri framed the rollout as a milestone in India's mobility, energy security and self-reliance agenda. The launch targets the country's largest vehicle segment, with over 30 crore (300 million) two-wheelers on Indian roads.

Context

In his post, Puri said 'India's mobility revolution has entered a new chapter', describing the launch as 'far more than the launch of a new vehicle' and 'the convergence of India's energy security mission, our commitment to clean mobility, and our resolve to build an #AatmaNirbharBharat'.

The minister noted that ethanol blending in India stood at just 1.5% a decade ago and has since reached 20%, calling it 'one of the fastest energy transitions anywhere in the world'. He listed the gains as reduced dependence on imported oil, lower foreign exchange outgo, cleaner transportation and additional income for farmers.

Policy backdrop

The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, launched in 2003, has progressively raised blending targets, with the National Biofuel Policy of 2018 giving the push a formal framework. In 2021, the Centre advanced the E20 blending target from 2030 to 2025, accompanied by state-level procurement mandates and distillery capacity expansion.

Flex-fuel vehicle standards have been under consultation with the auto industry since around 2019 through the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the portfolio held by Gadkari, a long-time votary of ethanol and methanol mobility. The Hero MotoCorp launch operationalises that policy track for the dominant two-wheeler segment.

Stakeholders and impact

Puri argued that Indian farmers are 'no longer only Annadatas (food providers). They are increasingly becoming Urjadatas (energy providers)'. The scheme links sugarcane growers, maize farmers and ethanol distilleries to the transport fuel value chain, broadening rural cash flows beyond food procurement.

Citing the scale of the opportunity, the minister said that even if flex-fuel vehicles account for just 1% of annual petrol vehicle sales, they could generate annual demand for nearly 4 crore litres of ethanol, payments of about Rs 266 crore to distilleries, foreign exchange savings of roughly Rs 195 crore, and direct benefits of nearly Rs 160 crore to farmers.

Puri also invoked Brazil, which he said he had observed firsthand, as a template. The Latin American economy has run a large-scale flex-fuel programme using sugarcane ethanol since the 1970s and remains the most cited global precedent for India's transition.

What's next

The next phase of the rollout will hinge on the availability of higher-blend retail dispensing infrastructure, particularly E85-compatible pumps, which remain sparse outside pilot corridors. Industry watchers will also track whether the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways moves to mandate flex-fuel compatibility in new two-wheeler models from 2027 onward.

Pricing of the new Splendor+ and HF Deluxe Flex Fuel variants, dealer-level training and after-sales servicing for ethanol-tolerant engines will determine whether early adopter demand translates into mass-market penetration. Puri closed his post with the line that 'the road ahead is cleaner, the road ahead is greener, the road ahead is more self-reliant'.

For the Centre, the launch sits at the intersection of three priorities it has repeatedly emphasised: shrinking the crude oil import bill, monetising agricultural surplus, and embedding self-reliance into everyday consumer products. The two-wheeler, India's most ubiquitous vehicle, is now squarely inside that policy frame.