Union Minister Nitin Gadkari And Hardeep Singh Puri at The Launch Event. (Image Courtesy: X @HeroMotoCorp)
NEW DELHI: Hero MotoCorp unveiled the Splendor Plus Flex-Fuel and the HF Deluxe Flex-Fuel on June 3, 2026 in the presence of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri. The motorcycles engineered entirely at Hero’s Centre for Innovation and Technology in Jaipur, can run on any ethanol-petrol blend between E20 and E85. Retail deliveries are scheduled to begin in July 2026 initially across Delhi-NCR and select Maharashtra regions. The Splendor Plus Flex-Fuel is priced at Rs 82,710 ex-showroom, while the HF Deluxe Flex-Fuel comes in at Rs 72,792 premiums of Rs 5,153 and Rs 172 respectively over their conventional counterparts.
The timing is deliberate. India’s ethanol industry has scaled to an annual production capacity of approximately 20 billion litres yet the current E20 blending mandate requires only 11 billion litres. That leaves a surplus of roughly 9 billion litres with no domestic absorption mechanism. Hero’s move and the government’s concurrent directives to oil marketing companies to install E22 to E30 dispensing infrastructure is as much a supply-chain solution as it is a climate one. However whether the commuter on whose shoulders this transition rests will actually switch fuels is a question that neither the launch event nor the policy framework has fully answered.
Why the 100cc Segment Is the Only Bet That Matters
Hero MotoCorp did not begin with its premium lineup. That choice carries meaning. The 100cc commuter segment accounts for nearly 50% of India’s total two-wheeler sales and within Hero’s own portfolio, the Splendor and HF Deluxe families represent approximately 70% of its internal combustion engine volumes. In January 2026 the Splendor Plus alone clocked 310,802 unit sales a 21% year-on-year rise. The HF Deluxe added another 71,690 units. Together these two platforms account for roughly one in every three motorcycles on Indian roads.
The buyer profile for both models is a rural or semi-urban daily commuter someone for whom the motorcycle is not a lifestyle product but an economic instrument. Fuel price volatility hits this demographic hard. Consequently if ethanol can be offered at a consistent and meaningful discount to petrol the commercial logic for flex-fuel adoption in this segment is far stronger than in the premium category. Honda’s CB300F Flex-Fuel discontinued and delisted in May 2026 after weak demand is instructive. Premium buyers prioritise performance and styling. Commuter buyers prioritise economics.
The Engineering: 36 Parts Rebuilt for Ethanol
Ethanol is not simply a cleaner petrol. It carries a higher octane rating but lower energy density, absorbs moisture aggressively and corrodes standard metals and rubber compounds. To manage these properties across a blend range as wide as E20 to E85, Hero’s engineers at CIT Jaipur rebuilt 36 engine and fuel-system components. The modifications include corrosion-resistant fuel hoses, gaskets and sealants, a heavier-duty fuel pump, an auxiliary filtration stage for moisture-induced contaminants and a fully recalibrated Engine Control Unit.
The ECU recalibration is the critical piece. Using integrated sensors, it detects the exact ethanol-petrol ratio in the tank in real time and dynamically adjusts spark timing and injection duration. Running on E85, the 97.2cc air-cooled engine produces 8.57 bhp at 8,000 rpm and 8.3 Nm of torque at 6,000 rpm a 7% power gain and 3% torque gain over the standard E20 variant. However because ethanol carries 30% to 35% less energy per litre than petrol mileage will drop relative to the standard model’s approximately 62 kmpl baseline. The economic case for the switch therefore rests entirely on whether ethanol is priced proportionally lower at the pump.
The Policy Scaffolding and Its Gaps
India’s ethanol blending programme has moved faster than most expected. Nationwide E20 blending was achieved ahead of its original 2025-26 schedule. On May 18, 2026 the Bureau of Indian Standards notified technical specifications for E22, E25, E27 and E30 blends. On May 29, the government directed all major fuel retailers including IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, Jio-bp and Nayara to build dispensing infrastructure for these new blends. Between November 2014 and February 2026 the blending programme reduced cumulative CO2 emissions by 87 million tonnes according to government figures while generating Rs 1.7 trillion in foreign exchange savings.
Nevertheless the infrastructure gap for E85 and E100 is significant. High-blend ethanol cannot use existing petrol dispensing infrastructure because of its corrosive properties and moisture absorption. Retailers must install dedicated underground storage tanks, separate dispensing units and new quality monitoring systems. As of June 2026, E85 refuelling points remain largely restricted to pilot cities. Hero’s phased rollout beginning with Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra reflects this reality directly. Maharashtra’s high ethanol production from sugarcane provides localised supply assurance. The national rollout however cannot follow until infrastructure does.
The government is finalising retail pricing for E100 fuel. The proposed framework places E100 at roughly 15% to 20% below standard petrol. In New Delhi, where petrol retails at Rs 94.77 per litre that would put E100 at approximately Rs 82 to Rs 87 per litre. At that level the higher fuel consumption of an ethanol blend is partially offset though the net saving depends heavily on the exact blend used and the daily riding distance. For a commuter covering 40 to 50 km daily, the arithmetic works in ethanol’s favour. Below that threshold, it becomes less clear.
The Competition and Hero’s First-Mover Window
Suzuki’s Gixxer SF 250 Flex Fuel is the only other active flex-fuel two-wheeler on Indian retail shelves and it operates at a price point above Rs 2 lakh far outside the commuter segment. Bajaj Auto has prioritised CNG commuter models. TVS Motor Company has concentrated its alternative-fuel investments in electric vehicles, where its iQube platform captured a 24.3% share of EV two-wheeler registrations in FY26. Neither has announced a mass-market flex-fuel offering.
Hero’s first-mover position in the 100cc flex-fuel space is real, but it is not permanent. Hero MotoCorp CEO Harshavardhan Chitale indicated during the launch that the company plans to expand flex-fuel technology across its broader portfolio over the next 12 to 24 months. That signals both urgency and competitive confidence. Meanwhile, Hero’s own EV brand VIDA recorded 144,099 retail registrations in FY26 capturing a 10.3% share of the domestic electric two-wheeler segment. Flex-fuel therefore is not a retreat from electrification. It is a hedge one designed to protect the company’s dominant hold on a high-volume segment where EVs face genuine adoption barriers including charging infrastructure, upfront cost and battery supply-chain dependencies.
Whether India’s commuter segment will be the force that finally turns the ethanol surplus into a structural shift remains an open question. The motorcycles exist, the policy intent is clear and the feedstock is available. What is still being built physically and institutionally is the infrastructure that would let a rider in a Tier-2 city fill up on E85 as routinely as petrol. Until that moment arrives the Splendor Flex-Fuel will for most buyers, function as a standard E20 motorcycle with a more expensive badge.
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