The Indian government has taken a major step to promote ethanol-powered vehicles. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has officially approved the use of E100 fuel in flex-fuel vehicles. This decision may increase the number of such cars in India in the future that can run on almost 100 percent ethanol. This could also help reduce the country’s dependence on petrol imports.

The Ministry issued a notification in this regard on 23 October 2026, which was published in the Official Gazette on 26 October. Along with this, the changes in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 have come into effect. In the new regulations, E100 is included along with E85 in provisions related to vehicle emission standards and testing.

What is E100 fuel?

E100 is a fuel that contains almost pure ethanol. Ethanol is a type of alcohol, which can be made mainly from sugarcane, corn and other agricultural products. E20 petrol is currently being sold in India. It contains 20 percent ethanol and 80 percent petrol. At the same time, the amount of ethanol in E100 is almost 100 percent. The biggest difference between the two is the amount of ethanol and the vehicle technology required to use it.

What is the difference between E10, E20, E85 and E100?

Can you put E100 in your petrol car?

No, E100 fuel cannot be used directly in normal petrol cars. According to the new rules, E85 and E100 can only be used in vehicles that are specifically designed by vehicle companies for ethanol fuel. Such vehicles are called flex-fuel vehicles. In this, the fuel system, engine components and electronic controls are designed to run on different amounts of ethanol fuel. If E100 is put into a normal petrol car, it can damage parts of its fuel system and affect engine performance.

What will change for car companies?

With the new regulations, vehicle manufacturers have got a system of testing and certification of cars running on the E100. This could pave the way for the launch of flex-fuel cars in India in the future. The Ministry has amended some rules related to emission testing in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. In which the weight limit of vehicles has been increased from 3,000 kg to 3,500 kg. However, the government has not yet made any announcement to start selling E100 fuel across the country. There is no official information on the prices of the new car running on this fuel.

Will the E100 be cheaper to run?

It is difficult to say at the moment whether the cost of running a car will decrease with the E100. Ethanol has less energy per liter than petrol. Therefore, a car may require more fuel to cover the same distance. The exact cost of driving a car will depend on the price of the E100, vehicle mileage and fuel availability. That is, high ethanol content does not guarantee that a car will be cheap to run.