Bajaj RE60 to face competition from upcoming quadricycles

  • May 28, 2013
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Bajaj's RE60 may have competition from Polaris, Mahindra, Piaggio and Tata Motors in the new quadricycle segment in India

Bajaj RE60

Bajaj Auto has got the green signal for the RE60, but it may not be the only such vehicle on the road in the years to come

Likely Price

Rs 1.5 lakh (excluding permit costs in different states), just a tad higher than the price of a Bajaj three-wheeler

Production

Bajaj's Aurangabad plant has a capacity to make 200 RE60s a day or 5,000 a month. "We will see how the vehicle is accepted to decide on the production schedule," says RC Maheshwari, head of CVs at Bajaj Auto

Approvals Needed

Automotive Research Association of India has to test and certify the vehicle; may have to undergo a crash test at a low speed of 30 km/hr

Rollout

Not clear yet; policy has still to be notified

Polaris Ranger RZR 4-seater

Others in the race

Polaris India

"We are looking at the potential of launching quadricycles in India, considering we have a good presence in Europe. Our quadricycles are used as recreational vehicles in Europe," says Pankaj Dubey, MD of Polaris India. "We do need clarity in the policy to know which of our vehicles can be launched." In April, Polaris had announced the acquisition of AM Holding, which makes Aixam Mega quadricycles

M&M

It is exploring the possibility of developing a quadricycle from scratch as none of the existing vehicles in M&M's portfolio can be re-engineered as a quadricycle. "The quadricycle will definitely change the landscape. A much safer vehicle, it will give an opportunity to consumers to upgrade from three-wheelers to four-wheelers at a marginally higher cost," says Pawan Goenka, president, automotive, Mahindra & Mahindra

Piaggio

One of the pioneers of quadricycles in Europe; Piaggio was one of the first along with TVS to propagate the idea in India in 2004. Although the plans didn't work out then, Piaggio India says it will now pursue the idea. Piaggio India MD Ravi Chopra says: "We have the wherewithal and the experience." He insists that he wants a level-playing field to facilitate manufacturers to develop and offer products. It's good that the policy has been fast-tracked but there should be time for all manufacturers to implement it, says Chopra. Piaggio is expected to firm up launch plans once it gets complete clarity on the quadricycle policy.

Tata Motors

Although Tata Motors was not in favour of a quadricycle, now that a policy is in place, it may consider such a vehicle on the Ace platform, a person close to the plans said. A Tata Motors spokesperson, however, declined to comment on the matter.

Globally, a quadricycle is a 4-wheel motor vehicle with less power and a much lower max speed than a conventional small car. There are over 3,00,000 quadricycles running in Europe. It officially became a new class of vehicles known as low-speed vehicles in the US in 1998 and in Canada in 2000.

Also read: Quadricycles like Bajaj RE60 finally get govt. nod

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