Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched Toyota’s pilot project on Flexi-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) in India this week. Such vehicles can run on 100% petrol as well as 20% to 100% blended ethanol and electric power.

Union Ministers Mahendranath Pandey, Bhupender Yadav, Rameswar Teli, vice-chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motors Vikram Kirloskar and Masakazu Yoshimura, managing director and chief executive of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, were among those present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Gadkari said 6% to 8% increase in the agricultural growth rate is necessary for Atmanirbhar Bharat. He emphasized the importance of converting surplus foodgrain and sugar into ethanol for boosting the rural economy.

The minister said the success of this pilot project will create an ecosystem of electric vehicles and make India a global leader in the manufacture of these vehicles.

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