Government gives the nod to new quadricycle class
We now have an all-new vehicle classification in India Quadricycles. The Indian government has given the green signal for the new classification that Bajaj Auto was pushing for despite opposition from Tata motors and Maruti Suzuki. This new classification describes a small, four wheeled transportation vehicle that will slot between a private car and a 3-wheeler. This will allow Bajaj's 4-wheeler, the RE60 which perfectly fits the bill, to go on sale and we can expect it to hit markets soon.
Don't get too excited about the prospect of a really cheap personal four wheeler though. The government has specified that quadricycles cannot be registered as private vehicles and can only be registered for public transport or to carry goods within city limits and rural areas. They will also have to carry a 'Q' badge to differentiate them from regular cars. This means you won't be able to register one privately or take it out on the highway.
What exactly is this quadricycle class you ask? The European Union has two basic classes namely Light Quadricycles, code named L6e and Heavy Quadricycles code named L7e. They need to weigh less than 450kgs for personal use or 600kg for goods transporters. They can be powered by either diesel or petrol engines making no more than 20PS. The L6e class vehicles need to be less than 3 meters in length while L7e class vehicles can grow up to a whopping 9.7 meters! Both need to be equipped with seat belts and other safety features like ABS. The Indian specification for quadricycles will be based on the European Union classifications though they will be tailored to Indian conditions and standards.
There seems to be a general concern globally with quadricycles and their safety as they have different norms to conform to than passenger cars. But studies show that their lower speeds account for lesser accidents. Also with the extra wheel adding to stability and a fully enclosed cabin there's no doubting that they would be a step up in terms of safety from the humble rickshaw.
Safety it seems was one of the concerns that Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki expressed in their opposition to the setting up of this new classification. They were also concerned that if quadricycles were made available to the private consumer the drop in safety standards would be a serious regression from the current standard. Bajaj on the other hand has always maintained said that the RE60 was designed as a replacement to the 3-wheeler claiming to offer better safety and comfort and not as an entry level private car. With the 'commercial use only' rider that the government has dictated for quadricycles, the RE60 won't be in direct competition with the Nano or the Alto 800. And while this may mean that some sleep sounder at night, might we see more manufactures taking a look at this space I wonder?
