Bajaj Qute ready for sale in Kerala
After 6 years of battle and winning Supreme Court approval, Bajaj Auto is all set to sell its quadricycle “Qute” in India. The company has already started deliveries of this vehicle through its dealerships in Kerala and North East India.
Bajaj Auto Finance President Mr. Kevin D’sa stated that Kerala is one state that has been technically allowed to retail this vehicle. He added that the company plans to begin with 30-40 units for initial sale. Deliveries are expected to begin next month onwards.
The four wheeler “Qute” will fall under a separate category of vehicles to be used only for commercial purposes. This vehicle is awaiting clearance from individual state Governments. In the meantime, sale will begin in Kerala and North Eastern States,as they have already given their permission to Bajaj Auto for sale.
Bajaj had started exporting this vehicle to Latin America, Africa and Europe in the year 2015. The company faced stiff opposition in India from few Public Interest Litigations and manufacturers such as TVS Motor Company,Tata Motors etc. who pointed out that quadricycles do not meet crash safety norms.
In 2016 the Euro NCAP published the result of crash tests conducted for heavy quadricycles in which Bajaj’s Qutewas awarded 2 stars compared to otherconventional cars. The safety standards made for a quadricycle in India are higher than the European standards. Bajaj Qute has met all the standards and won the go ahead signal from Supreme Court now.
Bajaj Qute is powered by a five speed, single cylinder, water cooled, 216cc engine that produces a max power of 13.2 PS. It can achieve a top speed of 70 kmph. Three passengers and one driver can travel comfortably in this quadricycle.
