The Splendor+ E85 flex fuel and HF Deluxe E85 flex fuel have jointly bagged around 10,000 bookings since their launch in June 2026
Hero MotoCorp launched India’s first E85 flex fuel compatible bikes a few months back in the presence of Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, and Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The Splendor+ E85 flex fuel and HF Deluxe E85 flex fuel were launched at price points of Rs 82,810 and Rs 72,792, respectively. Both the prices mentioned before are ex-showroom, Delhi. Now, we have learnt that the E85 bike duo has registered nearly 10,000 bookings in the Indian market.
“We have over 10,000 inquiries and bookings are close to reaching 10,000. And as the bikes are getting available, they’re getting sold,” Ashutosh Varma, Chief Business Officer – India Business Unit, Hero MotoCorp, told ETAuto. He further stated that Hero MotoCorp believes that the initial response garnered by both the E85 fuel-ready motorcycles is a strong indication of the potential that these models have in the mass market.
“As we ramp up our capacity in terms of the flex fuel bikes, this will become an important pillar for the growth in ICE as well,” Varma said. Hero MotoCorp retails around 45-50 lakh units of the standard versions of the Splendor and HF Deluxe annually, which is approx 25 percent of the overall two-wheelers sold in India in an annum.
If models like these become future-proof, they become compliant with what the government is largely supporting as a cause. We feel that we should be offering these benefits to the consumers,” Varma said. The flex fuel version of the Splendor+ and HF Deluxe can run on ethanol-blended petrol with ethanol content ranging from 20% (E20) to 85% (E85). Presently, E20 petrol, which has 20 percent blending of ethanol in petrol, is sold in India as standard fuel.
Hero MotoCorp stated that availablility of the E85 fuel is still a critical factor and only it can decide how fast these motorcycles gain mass market acceptance. As of now, E85 fuel is offered at limited petrol pumps across the nation, including Delhi-NCR. Hence, it sort of creates a supply-side constraint for the owners of E85 flex fuel vehicles while becoming a subject of concern for buyers considering such models.
“If the ecosystem is in place, we feel no reason as to why consumers will not adopt a future-proof vehicle, which will be far lower in terms of total cost of running… The total cost of ownership is lower, the running cost is lower, the bike delivers much higher power,” he said. Engineered for a clean future, Hero Splendor flex fuel and HF Deluxe flex fuel are equipped with a new fuel pump, secondary fuel filter and calibrated ECU map. The power output and torque delivery have gone up by 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
