This Weird Ethanol Motorcycle From India Might Make More Sense Than EVs For Half The Planet

Hero MotoCorps upcoming ethanol motorcycle could solve problems EVs still can’t fix in huge parts of the developing world.

Photo by: Hero MotoCorp

By: Enrico Punsalang

Jun 3, at 7:19am ET

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The motorcycle world spent the last few years acting like electrification was inevitable, immediate, and somehow universal. Meanwhile, huge chunks of the planet are still running ancient carbureted scooters held together by zip ties, electrical tape, and pure determination. That’s why Hero MotoCorp's preparation to launch India’s first production-ready E100 motorcycle suddenly matters way more than you’d think.

Because this thing isn’t trying to replace motorcycles with computers on wheels. It’s trying to save the combustion engine by changing what goes into the tank.

E100 means the bike runs entirely on ethanol instead of gasoline. No blend. No regular fuel mixed in. Just straight-up alcohol-based fuel made from crops and agricultural waste. Brazil’s been doing versions of this with cars forever, but motorcycles running pure ethanol at mainstream scale are still pretty rare. And if Hero pulls this off properly, it could end up becoming one of the most important commuter-bike launches in years.

The goal isn't to phase out internal combustion, but to change what goes into the tank.

Photo by: Hero MotoCorp

Not because it’s fast. Not because it’s high-tech. And definitely not because it’ll outrun a Tesla. It matters because this is aimed directly at countries where EV adoption still isn’t happening at the pace Silicon Valley thinks it is.

I’m from the Philippines, and EVs here are still mostly something you see in press launches, malls, upscale business districts, or influencer content. They exist, sure, but the average working-class commuter still relies on motorcycles that are cheap, simple, fuel-efficient, and repairable by literally every corner mechanic in the neighborhood. Charging infrastructure outside major urban areas is patchy at best, and electricity prices aren’t exactly helping the EV conversation either.

That’s the gap this ethanol bike could slide right into. And Hero MotoCorp already has the perfect mass-production ecosystem to pull it off. Instead of building a fragile, high-end experimental machine, Hero has secured regulatory approval to adapt its most legendary, bulletproof working-class platforms like the Splendor and the HF Deluxe into these new E100 iterations.

Instead of demanding an entirely new ecosystem, ethanol lets countries keep using the infrastructure they already have while reducing dependence on imported oil. India imports massive amounts of crude, and every geopolitical mess halfway across the world sends fuel prices climbing. Southeast Asia deals with the same problem. Ethanol changes that equation because it can be produced locally using agriculture instead of tankers crossing oceans.

And unlike EVs, there’s no waiting around for charging stations or battery swaps. You fuel up in minutes and keep moving. For delivery riders, commuters, farmers, and entire economies built around inexpensive motorcycles, that matters more than giant touchscreen dashboards or fake spaceship noises.

Of course, ethanol isn’t some miracle cheat code either. It carries less energy than gasoline, which can hurt fuel economy, and large-scale ethanol production raises questions about land use, water consumption, and food supply. E100 bikes also need specially engineered fuel systems because ethanol is way more corrosive than gasoline and behaves differently in combustion.

The Hero Splendor already boasts bullet-proof reliability and is the perfect candidate for Hero's E100 motorcycle project.

Photo by: Hero MotoCorp

But there’s still something undeniablty realistic about this whole thing. While the rest of the industry keeps arguing about whether the future is electric, hydrogen, hybrid, or synthetic fuel, Hero’s basically looking at the billions of people who still depend on tiny commuter motorcycles and saying, “Maybe we should build something that works for them first.”

What do you think?

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And that’s why this bike is so much bigger than just India. If this works, it could create a third lane between traditional gasoline bikes and full electrification. Not every country can afford to go all-in on EVs tomorrow. But plenty of countries already grow crops, already rely on motorcycles, and already need alternatives to imported fuel.

And that makes this weird little ethanol commuter bike way more important than its humble spec sheet probably suggests.