Mumbai

•12w

Right now, we seem to be on the verge of a major green mobility revolution in the Indian automotive industry. The Government of India has announced and started making E85 petrol available at select fuel stations. However, if the recent Iran-US peace deal and stability in the Strait of Hormuz are sustained, crude oil prices could potentially fall back to pre-conflict levels. Given such a scenario, should a new car buyer opt for a flex-fuel vehicle, an EV, or a conventional petrol/diesel vehicle from their preferred brand?

•12w

A new car buyer should not make a purchase decision based on short-term fluctuations in crude oil prices or geopolitical events. Even if crude prices soften, vehicle ownership is typically a 7-10 year decision, while fuel prices can change dramatically several times during that period. The best approach is to buy based on your usage pattern, not on what fuel prices may do over the next few months.

If your usage is predominantly city driving with access to home charging, an EV still makes a lot of sense because of its low running costs, smooth driving experience and lower maintenance requirements.

If you cover high monthly mileages and spend a lot of time on highways, a diesel can still be a compelling option, particularly in larger SUVs.

For most buyers, however, a regular petrol or hybrid remains the safest and most hassle-free choice today. Modern petrol engines are already compatible with current ethanol blends and there is no urgent need to wait for flex-fuel vehicles.

As for flex-fuel cars, the technology is promising, but it still has a long way to go before it makes complete financial sense. The government will likely have to keep E85 priced significantly below regular petrol to offset the efficiency penalty. In our recent E85 versus E20 mileage test on a flex-fuel Suzuki Gixxer SF 250, fuel efficiency dropped from 38.1kpl on E20 to 28.8kpl on E85, a reduction of over 24 percent. Even though E85 was around Rs. 20 per litre cheaper, the lower efficiency meant the running cost per kilometer was actually higher on E85.

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Suzuki

Gixxer 250

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•12w•

@autocar.india Thnq for your response, will help me a lot

•12w•

@saimu Flex fuel is honestly a non choice for now, theres no proper flex fuel car you can actually walk in and buy yet, so its really just EV vs petrol vs hybrid. If you dont have home charging, i would say dont overthink it, a strong hybrid like the Hyrcoss or Grand Vitara gives you great efficiency without any charging worry and stays insulated from most of this fuel drama.

•12w•

@gaurav_agarwal Thnq, GVit was already on my wishlist, I have to chk out HCros

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