Bajaj Auto is set to take on small carmakers with the launch of the Qute, a quadricycle for personal transportation, in February 2019. An alternative to a small car, it is expected to be priced ex-showroom between Rs 260,000 and Rs 300,000, and will offer better mileage (more than 30 km a litre) and less pollution than a car, and will be a convenient alternative to a two-wheeler but at the same operating costs.
However, it can give a top speed of 70 km per hour, which is part of government regulation for this category and ideal for cities. Currently, the Qute is sold only for commercial transportation, but through a notification by the government a few days ago, it has been permitted for personal transportation.
The Qute will have a slightly higher price than the Maruti Alto 800, which has an ex-showroom price of Rs 256,000 in Delhi but a lower mileage of 24.7 km a litre. Bajaj said there would be no need for any additional investment to churn out the personal transportation vehicle.
Car companies, however, have fought a long, bitter battle against Bajaj on the issue of permitting quadricycles as a separate class of vehicles and have insisted that if they are permitted to be used for personal transportation they should follow the same norms of emission and safety of a passenger car. However, the government has put in different norms of emission as well as safety rules for quadricycles.