From the Apex · Launch Mode ·

India's first flex-fuel car is here. You can't buy one yet.

Maruti's WagonR now runs on up to 85% ethanol, but it's for fleet buyers only, reported at ₹7.24 lakh, and E85 flows from 48 pumps.

  • India's first flex-fuel car runs on up to 85% ethanol. You cannot buy one: it goes to fleet and commercial buyers, at a reported ₹7.24 lakh ex-showroom.
  • E85 went on sale at 48 pumps on 5 June, with 500 due by December 2026 and about 5,000 by the end of 2027.
  • Every petrol station has sold E20 as standard since 1 April.
  • Millions of older cars are stuck on a blend they were never built for, with no E10 option left.

Two cabinet ministers, the eve of World Environment Day, and a car you can't actually buy.

On 4 June, Maruti showcased the WagonR Flex Fuel, India's first flex-fuel passenger car, flanked by Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri. Its 1.2-litre petrol has been reworked, with new injectors, fuel lines, an ethanol sensor and a recalibrated ECU, to run on anything from E20 to E85.

The catch comes in two parts. It is for fleet and commercial use only, so you cannot buy one, and no price was announced on the day: it was reported about ten days later at ₹7.24 lakh ex-showroom, ₹86,000 over the petrol ZXi+ manual, and Maruti has still not published a price of its own. And E85 went on sale on 5 June at 48 pumps, with 500 due by December 2026 and about 5,000 by the end of 2027.

The deeper irony sits at the other end of the pump. Since 1 April, every station sells E20 as standard, with no E10 or E5; the only ethanol-free escape is 100-octane, which costs ₹65.23 a litre more than regular in Delhi. So we have an 85% blend with almost no cars to burn it, and millions of older cars stuck on a 20% blend they were never built for. If the state can conjure E85 for a fleet that barely exists, it could spare an E10 line for the cars that actually need one.

The engineering is genuinely clever. The ecosystem, for now, is a press release with two ministers attached.

Updated 16 September 2026: the price, the E85 pump count and the 100-octane premium.

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