Quadricycles set to ply on Indian roads, notification on vehicle standards soon

NEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto will soon be able to sell its much-delayed ultra-low cost micro-car Qute in India, with the government set to notify the inclusion of quadricycles in the category of vehicles approved to run on the country’s roads.

The final notification regarding standards for the quadricycle including its weight, engine size, passenger capacity, maximum speed and passenger and pedestrian safety features will be put out in a fortnight.

“We will soon issue the final standards for the category after which any company that manufactures quadricycle can sell it in India. We have ensured that the safety standards for quadricycle are more stringent than the European standards,” road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari told ET.


The move will clear all hurdles for the launch of the vehicle, which is currently embroiled in legal tangles over its safety features. The government amended the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, in February 2014 to introduce quadricycles as a new vehicle category.

After getting approval from the ministry, Bajaj will have to clear the mandatory crash test to obtain certification from the Automotive Research Association of India.

“We have ensured that all safety standards that are prescribed for other passenger four-wheelers are prescribed for quadricycle as well. The vehicle will be tested on its crash worthiness as well,” a top road transport and highways ministry official said. “Since the launch of quadricycle has been challenged in the Supreme Court, once the notification is out, the ministry will inform the apex court that the standards for the category have been issued.”

Bajaj Auto declined to comment.

Bajaj Auto unveiled its quadricycle in 2012 and later rechristened it as Qute. It could not be launched in India because industry bodies went to the Supreme Court seeking a bar on the vehicle that wasn’t recognised by the road transport and highways ministry.

With the lack of policy clarity in India, the company started exporting the Qute. The vehicle has a light 216 cc engine and weighs less than 400 kg and is likely to be priced below Rs 1.5 lakh.

– With inputs from Sharmishtha Mukherjee