'No need to be worried about ethanol': Toyota's Vikram Gulati
In a discussion with Rahul Ghosh of Auto Today, Vikram Gulati, country Head and Executive Vice President (Corporate Affairs and Governance) of Toyota Kirloskar Motor, talks about sustainability, E20 and E85 fuels and their use
Q. We have moved from diesel to CNG and now ethanol for fuels.
Q. We have moved from diesel to CNG and now ethanol for fuels.
A. The automotive space has been witnessing a transformation towards sustainable mobility. That is a pathway that is more or less decided globally. India has huge potential toward increasing the share of ethanol in its fuel usage.
Q. How about the perceived vulnerability of vehicles using E20 fuel?
A. There should be no concern with regard to E20. People need not worry about the future because the government and all stakeholders are going to decide after testing. If it is going to be rolled out, it means there is not going to be a major impact.
Q. What’s the impact on performance with ethanol fuel?
A. I don’t think there will be any adverse impact. You know one fun fact—Formula One cars, which represent the best of performance, use ethanol. So, you get much better torque and much better acceleration using ethanol than with petrol.
Q. Will the price of E85 be reduced?
A. Shifting to ethanol is a national priority. We import 88 per cent of all the crude that we need. The economy is highly vulnerable due to this import dependency. For example, with every $10 rise in global crude prices, you are looking at $15-18 billion of additional foreign exchange expenditure. Also, petrol/ diesel are extremely polluting. So, you have a fuel here that is the cleanest.
Q. Can flex fuel be adopted at a faster rate as compared to EVs?
A. Definitely, because you don’t need to change the behaviour of consumers. There is no infrastructure hurdle here, because it doesn’t need any charging infrastructure.
Q. What are the disadvantages of ethanol?
A. Ethanol has small issues. These revolve around the fact that it does have a corrosive nature to it. Its energy density is lower than that of conventional petrol or diesel.
Q: Is E85 pricedcorrectly?
A. Currently, when the government has started to roll out the E85 infrastructure, its price is actually 20 per cent lower than that of petrol. Of course, ideally speaking, it should be slightly cheaper still, but it’s a huge step. The whole idea is that the consumer does not feel the pinch because, ultimately, the one important criterion for the individual consumer is the financial aspect.
