E100 Flex Fuel Vehicles India: What MoRTH's New Rule Means…

E100 flex fuel vehicles India rules are now in place. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, so that vehicles designed for near-pure ethanol (E100) can be certified alongside E85 vehicles. The government announced the change through the Press Information Bureau on October 26, 2026.

The news triggered a lot of worried messages, mainly from owners asking whether their petrol car will soon have to run on far more ethanol. The short answer is no. MoRTH says plainly that the change does not require owners of existing vehicles to switch fuels or modify their vehicles, now or in the future.

On October 28, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri added that there is no immediate plan to raise the ethanol blend in regular petrol beyond the current 20%. Here is what the rule does, what it does not do, and what it means for buyers.

Table of Contents

What has MoRTH actually changed?

The amendment updates the emission-certification provisions in the motor vehicle rules. According to PIB, they now expressly include E100 alongside E85. Autocar India explains that the earlier rules allowed homologation of vehicles only up to E85.

In simple terms, carmakers now have a legal route to certify and sell vehicles designed to run on up to 100% ethanol. Those vehicles must still meet all emission and safety rules for their category.

The notification also:

Updates biodiesel provisions, replacing B10 with B100 in testing parameters, as Autocar India reports
Raises the gross vehicle weight threshold for chassis-dynamometer emission testing from 3,000kg to 3,500kg
Makes technical corrections

The rules take effect from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

What do E20, E85 and E100 mean?

The letter E stands for ethanol, and the number is the percentage of ethanol in the fuel by volume.

Fuel	Ethanol share	Who can use it
E10	Up to 10%	Older petrol vehicles rated for E10
E20	Up to 20%	Vehicles rated E20; the current standard blend target
E85	Up to 85%	Only certified flex-fuel vehicles
E100	Near-pure ethanol	Only certified flex-fuel vehicles

PIB makes one point very clearly: a vehicle that is compatible with E10 or E20 is not automatically suitable for E85. Flex-fuel capability has to be designed in and certified.

Does this affect my current car?

No. This is the most important part of the notification.

MoRTH says E85 and E100 are intended only for vehicles specifically designed and certified for them. The notification “does not require owners of existing vehicles to switch to E85 or modify their vehicles either at present or in the future”, in the words of the PIB release.

What you should do is simple. Check the fuel compatibility sticker on your vehicle, usually inside the fuel flap, and follow the guidance in your owner’s manual. If your car is rated E10, ask your service centre about E20 use before filling regularly.

Is India raising the ethanol blend beyond 20%?

Not right now. HT Auto, citing PTI, quoted Hardeep Singh Puri on October 28: “In so far biofuels are concerned, yes, the 20% (of ethanol blending) was the target, and there is no desire, just now, to increase by more than 20%.”

The minister also said misinformation was being spread about biofuels. The words “just now” matter. This is not a promise for all time, but there is no plan for a higher pump blend at present.

How does a flex-fuel vehicle work?

PIB describes it well. A flex-fuel vehicle has a single fuel tank and can run on a range of petrol and ethanol blends. Its fuel-system parts and materials are chosen for those blends, and the engine controls automatically adjust to whatever mix is in the tank.

That means an owner can choose, at the pump, any fuel within the range the manufacturer has certified. Brazil and the US have used this technology for years.

One honest caveat that the notification does not cover: ethanol carries less energy per litre than petrol. A flex-fuel car running on a high ethanol blend will generally cover fewer kilometres per litre, so the real running cost depends on how ethanol is priced against petrol at the pump. No retail price for E100 has been announced.

E100 flex fuel vehicles India: confirmed vs not confirmed

Item	Status
E100 included in emission certification rules	Confirmed (PIB, Oct 26)
Existing vehicles must switch or be modified	No; MoRTH says not required
Pump blend raised above E20	No plan “just now” (Puri, Oct 28)
Flex-fuel cars on sale	Not yet; carmakers are developing them
E100 retail availability and price	Not announced
Launch dates for flex-fuel models	Not announced

When will flex-fuel cars go on sale?

No date has been announced. HT Auto reports that Toyota, Tata Motors and Hyundai are among the carmakers developing flex-fuel vehicles for India. Autocar India says the new rules give manufacturers the homologation pathway they need to commercialise the E100 prototypes they have been testing.

Two things still have to happen before this matters to buyers. Carmakers need to launch certified models, and fuel companies need to sell E85 or E100 widely enough to be useful. Neither has a public timeline.

Should you wait for a flex-fuel car?

For most buyers, no. There is no flex-fuel model on sale and no E100 pump network yet. Waiting for something without a date rarely pays off.

If cutting fuel cost or emissions is your priority today, look at what you can buy now. Strong hybrids like the Renault Duster Hybrid are already here, and EVs are widely available.

Also keep an eye on other rule changes affecting what you drive. For example, Delhi-NCR owners should check the non-BS6 vehicle restrictions from November 1, and car buyers should note MoRTH’s other big proposal, the draft rules for mandatory AEB.

What about two-wheelers and trucks?

The PIB release talks about vehicles in general, not only cars, so the certification route is open to any category that meets its own rules. No two-wheeler maker has announced an E100 model under the new rules.

For heavy vehicles, the B100 change sets up testing for pure biodiesel. Autocar India notes that most heavy diesel engines are validated for blends up to B20, so wide B100 use is still a distant goal.

CarBike Insight Analysis

This is an enabling rule, not a mandate. It gives carmakers a legal path to sell E100 vehicles and leaves everyone else alone. The worry it caused is understandable, given the earlier debate around E20, but the text is clear.

The real test is still ahead: pricing of ethanol at the pump, how many outlets sell it, and whether flex-fuel cars cost more to buy.

We would also like to see two simple things before E85 or E100 reaches pumps: very clear labelling at every nozzle, so nobody fills the wrong fuel by mistake, and a published price per litre that lets owners compare real running costs against petrol. Without those, buyer confidence will be hard to build.

Who benefits now? Nobody directly, yet. Who should act? Only owners who are unsure about E20; check your sticker and manual. Everyone else can carry on as normal.

FAQ

Can I put E100 in my current petrol car?

No. E85 and E100 are only for vehicles designed and certified as flex-fuel vehicles.

Will I have to convert my car?

No. MoRTH says existing owners do not need to switch fuels or modify their vehicles, now or in the future.

Is the petrol blend going above E20?

Not for now. The petroleum minister said there is no immediate plan to go beyond 20%.

When will flex-fuel cars launch in India?

No dates have been announced. Toyota, Tata Motors and Hyundai are developing them.

Where can I buy E100?

No retail rollout has been announced yet.

E100 Flex Fuel Vehicles India: What MoRTH’s New Rule Means for Your Car