Quadricycles to ply from October

From October, a new category of vehicle named Quadricycle will be allowed to ply on Indian roads. The four-wheeled vehicle will be bigger than an auto-rickshaw and smaller to the Maruti Alto car, and will be used for commercial purpose - transporting passengers and goods on non-highway stretches in cities and villages. 

Government sources said the draft notification for this vehicle will be out soon since the law ministry has vetted the proposal of road transport ministry to include this as a new category of commercial vehicle in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. Addressing safety concerns on the quality of material for building fully enclosure body, the government has come out with a negative list of flexible materials including rexin, cloth or plastic. Earlier the law ministry had sought clarification on the definition of roof. 

Quadricycles with a big "Q" written in the front of the vehicle will be allowed to ply at a maximum speed of 70 kmph. In the case of passenger vehicles, the quadricycle must accommodate four passengers including the driver while goods vehicles in this category must have seating for two persons including driver and 550 kg maximum load. 

The kerb weight of quadricycles will be different for passenger and goods vehicles. While for the first category the gross weight of vehicle would be 450 kg, goods quadricycles will be of 550 kg. Similarly the goods vehicles will be longer than that of passenger quadricycles. Sources said that government would give 30 days time for submitting suggestions and objections on the draft notification. Then finally the orders would be out. 

Already Tata Motors has officially opposed the introduction of quadricycle on Indian roads. Even Italy's Piaggio, which makes quadricycles in Europe, has said other companies should also be given adequate time to develop suitable products for India and there should be no haste in giving a go-ahead. Even Mahindra & Mahindra has said the rule-making for quadricycles should be based on "merit" and "not to accommodate specific-existing products." 

At present, Bajaj Motors is the only automobile maker in India that has developed four-wheeled passenger carrier RE60 and plans to launch it during this financial year. 

The vehicle manufacturers are divided on qudricycle introduction with allegations against the transport ministry that the government was accommodating Bajaj Motor's demand. 

Though several European countries such as Italy, France and Spain allow mini or micro cars their share is only 0.25% and these are used by people when their vehicles go for repair or are impounded. Moreover, against the annual sale of 14 million cars in Europe only 35,000 quadricycles are sold.