Tata Motors has emerged as one of the country’s leading car manufacturers and one of the most popular. The company is also innovating in green fuels and is growing strongly in the electric vehicle segment by becoming the country’s largest selling EV manufacturer. With the ongoing war in West Asia, Tata Motors is looking to expand its green drive beyond just electric vehicles.
This is where the company’s advancements in flex fuel vehicles will come into action. As confirmed by the MD of Tata Motors, we will see the company launch a flex fuel vehicle by late 2026 or early 2027 that can run on 100% ethanol. let’s take a closer look.
Tata flex fuel car will be launched this year
During the 2025 India Mobility Expo in New Delhi, Tata Motors showcased a technology demonstration in the form of Punch Flex Fuel. This prototype was capable of combusting both petrol and petrol + ethanol blends and even pure ethanol. The blends supported by this prototype ranged from E20 (20% ethanol) to E100 (100% ethanol).
Now, Tata Motors is working on bringing this flex fuel technology to series production. The company has confirmed that the first Tata Flex Fuel vehicle will be launched in the country by late 2026 or early 2027. This was confirmed by Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, during the Q4 post earnings call.
It has not been confirmed whether the Punch will be the first recipient of the flex fuel technology or any other vehicle, but Tata Motors is confident that their first flex fuel vehicle will be ready by this year. If flex fuel is first introduced with the Punch, this SUV will get its fourth fuel option (petrol, CNG, EV, ethanol) and if launched with the Nexon, it will be its fifth (petrol, diesel, CNG, EV, ethanol).
What will be the changes?
Ethanol is notorious for retaining moisture content and when mixed with petrol, it introduces a fair amount of moisture into the fuel system of the vehicle. If a vehicle does not have a customized and dedicated fuel system designed to work with said percentage of ethanol, internal corrosion may occur within the fuel lines, fuel pump or injectors.
Ethanol refueling is a similar process to gasoline refueling and does not take as long. Tata’s decision to launch its first flex fuel vehicle by late 2026 or early 2027 is in line with the Indian government’s push towards self-reliance and reduction in crude oil import dependence. The ongoing war in West Asia has disrupted natural gas and crude oil supply lines.
Tata Motors is also set to launch two new electric cars in the form of Safari EV, which will take on the recently launched Mahindra