Only an hour back, we posted a spy pic of a Bajaj RE60 test mule that has been spotted in Pune. Unlike what was initially being thought, the RE60 won’t be a Tata Nano competitor and will instead open up a new segment in India. To be called as a quadricycle, the RE60 will bridge the gap between an auto rickshaw and an entry level car.
While all seems good about BAL’s plan, Tata Motors Managing Director Karl Slym recently criticized the Indian government’s decision to come up with a new policy for quadricycle and thus, pave the way for the launch of the RE60. Slym said that the Govt’s step raises concern on safety and pollution.
Bajaj Auto Ltd has now shot back at Slym saying that the RE60 adheres to European quadricyle regulations and would be much safer than the three-wheeled auto rickshaws. Bajaj also said that “the cheaper car, Nano, offers nothing but a lower price; the sales data appear to tell us quite clearly how deep that strategy runs with customers”.
The Bajaj RE60 is powered by a single cylinder petrol engine that has a claimed fuel economy of 35 kmpl. The RE60 has low CO2 emissions of just 60g per kilometre and the single cylinder engine has a max power output of 20bhp. The RE60, in all probability, will be sold in both hard top and soft top versions and would offer a 2+2 and 1+3 seat layout.
It remains to be seen how successful would the RE60 be in replacing the tried and tested auto rickshaws.
Source – business-standard.com
No Indian would want to be caught dead in it. Cheap or not, the only buyers would be taxiwalas and that would diminish its value further for the lower middle class.