Maruti Wagon R Flex Fuel Launched: India's First E100 Car (Simple Guide)

Maruti has done something new and interesting. On 4 June 2026, just one day before World Environment Day, the company showed the new Wagon R Flex Fuel in New Delhi.

And this is not a show car. It is a real car that you will be able to buy. With this, the simple Wagon R becomes India's first flex-fuel car for normal buyers.

The launch took place in front of two Union Ministers — Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri. So you can see this is a big government push, not just a Maruti car.

Below, I will explain everything in easy words. What flex fuel means, what is new in the car, the price, the mileage, and if you should buy it or not.

What is a flex-fuel car? (in simple words)

Let me make this clear first, because many people get confused.

A normal petrol car runs only on petrol. A flex-fuel car can run on petrol and ethanol. And it can run on almost any mix of the two.

This Wagon R can run on E20 (this is normal pump petrol with 20% ethanol, what you already get today). It can also run on E100, which is full ethanol with no petrol.

Now the smart part. The car has a small sensor that checks how much ethanol is in the tank. Then the engine sets itself on its own. You do not have to press any button. Put E20 today and E85 next week — the car will adjust by itself.

One more thing. Ethanol is made from sugarcane and grain. So this fuel can be grown in India. We do not have to buy it from other countries like petrol. That is the main idea behind this car.

What is new in the car?

If you keep this Wagon R next to a normal Wagon R, you will not see much change. Same tall shape, same big windows, same grille, same lights, same 14-inch wheels. The inside also looks almost the same.

All the new work is in the engine. Maruti took its 1.2-litre petrol engine and changed it to run on ethanol. The main changes are:

• New fuel injectors and a stronger fuel pump
• New fuel pipes that can handle ethanol (ethanol can damage normal pipes)
• A new engine setting (the car's brain is re-tuned)
• A sensor that reads the fuel and sets the engine

The engine gives around 82 bhp and comes with a manual gearbox. Maruti has also worked on cold starts, because full ethanol is harder to start in cold weather than petrol

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Maruti Wagon R Flex Fuel price

Now the price. Let me be honest with you here.

Maruti has not told the final price yet. Different sources are saying different numbers. Some say the base model may cost around ₹5 lakh to ₹5.5 lakh (ex-showroom). One report says it may go up to around ₹8 lakh after adding the flex-fuel parts.

Why this big difference? The flex-fuel kit alone adds about ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 to the car. This extra cost should come down later when Maruti puts this engine in more cars.

So my simple advice — wait for the official price and the on-road price for your city before you get too excited.

Mileage — and one thing you must know

This is the part most articles skip. So let me tell you straight.

On paper, the car shows good fuel numbers. But there is a catch with ethanol. Ethanol has less power than petrol for the same amount. In simple words — one litre of ethanol takes you fewer kilometres than one litre of petrol.

So when you run the car on full ethanol (E85 or E100), you may get less mileage than petrol. The saving only works if ethanol is much cheaper than petrol at the pump. If the price is almost the same, then you do not really save money.

This is the real catch nobody tells you first.

Biggest problem: where will you fill E100?

This is the main issue right now.

India has done well with E20. Almost all petrol pumps now give E20 fuel. But full ethanol (E85 or E100) is sold at only about 50 to 100 pumps in the whole country. And most of them are in Delhi-NCR and on the Mumbai-Nagpur road.

So yes, your car can run on E100. But if you do not live near these pumps, you will not find E100 easily. The good news is the government wants 5,000 ethanol pumps by the end of 2027. The not-so-good news is that is still more than a year away.

Even Maruti's own team has said that flex-fuel cars may sell slowly at first, because the fuel is not everywhere yet. Good of them to say it openly.

One good point — the car also runs fully on normal E20 petrol, which you get everywhere. So you will never get stuck. You only get the full ethanol benefit once more pumps come up.

Should you buy the Wagon R Flex Fuel?

Here is my honest view.

If you live in Delhi-NCR or near the Mumbai-Nagpur road, and you drive a lot, this car can save you fuel money — but only if ethanol stays cheaper than petrol. For you, it is worth a good look.

For everyone else? I would say wait. The car is not bad at all — it is the same trusted Wagon R inside. But the ethanol pumps are not ready yet. If you buy this car today and run it only on E20 petrol, then there is no real point.

Give it one or two years. Once more E85 and E100 pumps come up, this will be a much better buy. Right now, it is more of a proud moment for India than a must-buy car for most people.

FAQs

When was the Maruti Wagon R Flex Fuel launched? It was shown on 4 June 2026 in New Delhi, one day before World Environment Day. It is India's first flex-fuel car for normal buyers.

What is the price of the Wagon R Flex Fuel? It may cost around ₹5 to 5.5 lakh ex-showroom at the base level. Some reports say up to ₹8 lakh. Maruti has not given the final price yet, so please wait for the official number.

What fuel does it use? It runs on any mix of ethanol and petrol — from E20 (normal pump petrol) up to E100 (full ethanol). The engine sets itself based on the fuel in the tank.

Will it give better mileage than a petrol Wagon R? Not always. Ethanol gives less mileage than petrol per litre. You save money only if ethanol is cheaper at the pump.

Where can I get E100 fuel in India? Only about 50 to 100 pumps sell full ethanol now, mostly in Delhi-NCR and on the Mumbai-Nagpur road. The government wants 5,000 such pumps by end of 2027.

Can it run on normal petrol? Yes. It runs fine on the E20 petrol sold at all pumps. So you will never get stuck.