TVS launches India's first ethanol-based motorcycle Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 at Rs 1.2 lakh
TVS said RTR 200 Fi E100 can take a maximum 20 per cent petrol blended with 80 per cent ethanol, as 100 per cent ethanol is simply not available anywhere in the country
- Jul 12, 2019,
- Updated Jul 12, 2019 6:10 PM IST
With the government mounting serious pressure on the domestic two-wheeler industry to move away from fossil fuel vehicles and look at alternate energy, country's third largest two-wheeler maker TVS motor company on Friday launched an ethanol-based version of its 200cc sports-bike Apache. At a price of Rs 1.2 lakh, this version costs about Rs 11,000 more than the comparable petrol variant. It is capable of running completely on ethanol and does not need to be blended with petrol at all. The bike will initially be available in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Ethanol has been successfully used as an alternative to petrol in markets like Brazil and can be particularly helpful in India, which imports crude worth $128 billion annually. Around 10 per cent of it - about $13 billion - is used by motorcycles alone.
"For the last 12 years, I have been constantly saying that India needs vehicles run on bio-fuels, so I am glad that TVS has finally launched a mobike that is capable of running only on ethanol," said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways. "Pollution is a real challenge for us and this is the time to solve it. We need vehicles that run on bio-fuels as well as electricity to completely replace our existing fossil fuel based industry. This will not only reduce our oil import bill and save foreign exchange for us, it will also eradicate pollution from our cities."
With the government mounting serious pressure on the domestic two-wheeler industry to move away from fossil fuel vehicles and look at alternate energy, country's third largest two-wheeler maker TVS motor company on Friday launched an ethanol-based version of its 200cc sports-bike Apache. At a price of Rs 1.2 lakh, this version costs about Rs 11,000 more than the comparable petrol variant. It is capable of running completely on ethanol and does not need to be blended with petrol at all. The bike will initially be available in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Ethanol has been successfully used as an alternative to petrol in markets like Brazil and can be particularly helpful in India, which imports crude worth $128 billion annually. Around 10 per cent of it - about $13 billion - is used by motorcycles alone.
"For the last 12 years, I have been constantly saying that India needs vehicles run on bio-fuels, so I am glad that TVS has finally launched a mobike that is capable of running only on ethanol," said Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport and highways. "Pollution is a real challenge for us and this is the time to solve it. We need vehicles that run on bio-fuels as well as electricity to completely replace our existing fossil fuel based industry. This will not only reduce our oil import bill and save foreign exchange for us, it will also eradicate pollution from our cities."