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Bajaj Auto on Friday launched its much-awaited RE60 quadricycle, which has been named ‘Qute’, at a free-on-board (FoB) price tag of $2,000 (around ₹1.35 lakh).
The vehicle is meant only for export markets for now, as the regulations for India are not yet in place because of an ongoing public interest litigation in the Supreme Court.
FoB refers to terms requiring the seller to deliver goods on board a vessel designated by the buyer. Depending on the duties and taxes of each country, the price will differ in each market.
“Everything is in place but I don’t know why it (regulation) is not passed... somebody has to give us an approval.
Till then, the world will drive on four-wheels (where Qute will be exported) and India on three-wheels (auto rickshaw),” said Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto.
The vehicle will be shipped to 16 countries, including Turkey, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru and Ecuador, starting early next month and will start with around 100 units initially.
Plant capacity On the Aurangabad plant capacity, Bajaj said, “In Aurangabad we have total capacity of 55,000 units a month between our three-wheeler and Qute. We can produce 500/1,000/5,000 vehicles (Qute) a month as we can change the mix depending upon the demand.”
He said Bajaj Auto was not in a rush. “We don’t want to send out too many vehicles to 16 countries too soon,” he said, adding that from 2016 Bajaj will scale up the exports and expand the market.
“We don’t want to send too many units initially. We will send around 100 units per month initially and depending on the feedback, we will increase the numbers,” he said.
Qute is powered by an all new water-cooled DTSi, four-valve 217cc engine that has a fuel economy of 36 kmpl and a maximum speed of 70km per hour.
‘Cleaner solution’ The vehicle recently got the European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (WVTA) certificate awarded by RDW Netherlands, meeting the European quadricycle norms.
“With Qute, we are now raising the bar and ushering in a new transportation solution that is cleaner, safer and more comfortable. Our partners across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe are excited about the growth opportunities that Qute can bring for us,” Rakesh Sharma, President, International Business, Bajaj Auto, said here at the launch.
The Qute has been designed in response to the evolving requirements of low-cost, last-mile public transport across the world by optimising size, weight, cost and speed, the company said.
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