NEW DELHI : With E85 fuel being talked about, the cost of the fuel has been revealed but another cost needs to be discussed. Flex fuel cars have extensive modifications over standard cars with the fuel tank, ECU and other components being changed. Which brings to the question regarding the cost of a flex fuel car in India notably the Wagon R flex fuel car for example.
Considering the changes we expect a flex fuel car to be costing Rs 1 lakh more and being similar to a CNG version which also costs around a lakh more or in some cases is less. However, one lakh is something we expect a flex fuel car to be having a price premium and a manufacturer can absorb the cost or price it lower too. Which means to promote fuel fuel cars the prices of the cars itself would be same in some cases or have a small premium but looking at the extensive changes around a lakh is expected to be the price difference.
At first there would be few flex fuel cars being launched with Maruti Suzuki starting it with the Wagon R while Tata could also introduce a Punch with a fuel fuel powertrain. Slowly more launches will take place once more filling stations have E85 fuel. At the moment Delhi has an E85 fuel filling station while more will come up which will be followed up by new cars compliant with that fuel.
