The much awaited policy on Quadricycles has crossed the final hurdle, as the Union law ministry has cleared the proposal and forwarded the policy document for final notification to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways for creating a new category of vehicles. The Law Ministry has cleared the proposal late last week, a source close to the development said.
The onus is now on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to issue a final notification , a move if it comes will see Bajaj Auto's RE60 rolling out on Indian roads in 6-9 months time. Oscar Fernandes, the minister for road transport and highway had cleared the proposal in late 2013, after incorporating suggestions and objections from other OEMs. The proposal had moved to the law ministry.
People close to the development say, the "crossing of Ts and dotting of I's was done by the law ministry last week and if all goes well, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) might come out with final notification in the next 15 to 30 days. The two key clause of the final notifications are likely to be that Quadricycles will only be allowed for commercial transportation purpose.
Bajaj Auto will be allowed to roll out RE60, six months from the date of final notification. This may give the competition a little more lead time to develop their Quadricycle. M&M has already confirmed to ET that the company has begun work on its own quadricycles and Piaggio too is watching the development closely. Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto told ET, "We understand that the union law ministry has cleared the Quadricycles proposal. We have lost 2 years and lost 90% (because the vehicle can be used only for commercial use) of the market."
The final notification will lay down broader specifications of size & dimension, weight, power etc, but the MORTH will then give the responsibility to the testing agency ARAI or ICAT for the statutory order. In the statutory order, the testing agencies will come out with finer aspects of vehicle specification like the key parameters needed for safety, emission etc.
Post the framing of the statutory order , the vehicle will go through road tests under new rules. If it confirms to standards set by the testing agency, then the vehicle will be allowed to register under Union of India. Since it is meant for public transport, the quadricycle is likely to get separate permits just like the three wheelers and taxis to ply on roads from Regional Transport Offices of various state governments.
For the first time, a new category of vehicle has been created, since the framing of Central Motor Vehicle Act, respective state governments may have additional say on the category of the vehicle and on the number of vehicles allowed. West Bengal state government has already expressed interest to this new category of vehicles. Bajaj Auto is in the process of reaching out to various other state governments for selling the vehicle. Bajaj is upset with the protraction in clearance of the proposal and says the advantage of the first mover may not be there for long.
There was a division within the industry on creating this new category of vehicle, which Bajaj claimed was more to delay the framing of policy then blocking it. "M&M is definitely developing the vehicle, they have said so.
I have no doubt that Tata are also developing a quadricycle, their objective was to delay things so that they can catch up, it was not that they were opposing it. A week before his death, Karl (Slym) managing director of Tata Motors too had expressed his interest. I met Venu (Srinivasan), chairman and managing director of TVS Motor Company at the Expo, he did not say so, but I am sure TVS is working on it and so is Piaggio. I think they have all been working on it for two years, the lead which we thought we would get, we would not get now," added Bajaj.
Considered as the safer alternative to the three wheelers , Quadricycles will be allowed to ply only in cities as transport vehicles and not as a personal vehicle. The quadricycle, is a step-up from traditional auto rickshaws but significantly cheaper than a car because of its weight, power and speed. According to the specification known so far, the vehicle meant for carrying passengers has to be of 450 kg and for carrying goods should be of 550 kg.
The length will be 3 metre for passenger version and 3.7 metre for goods version. Quadricycles can carry a maximum of four passengers anda goods vehicles can carry 500 kg. Bajaj Auto's RE60 has a kerb weight of 450 kgs, emits 50 gms of carbon dioxide per kilometer and delivers high fuel efficiency of over 35-40 kilometers per litre.
The onus is now on the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to issue a final notification , a move if it comes will see Bajaj Auto's RE60 rolling out on Indian roads in 6-9 months time. Oscar Fernandes, the minister for road transport and highway had cleared the proposal in late 2013, after incorporating suggestions and objections from other OEMs. The proposal had moved to the law ministry.
People close to the development say, the "crossing of Ts and dotting of I's was done by the law ministry last week and if all goes well, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH) might come out with final notification in the next 15 to 30 days. The two key clause of the final notifications are likely to be that Quadricycles will only be allowed for commercial transportation purpose.
Bajaj Auto will be allowed to roll out RE60, six months from the date of final notification. This may give the competition a little more lead time to develop their Quadricycle. M&M has already confirmed to ET that the company has begun work on its own quadricycles and Piaggio too is watching the development closely. Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto told ET, "We understand that the union law ministry has cleared the Quadricycles proposal. We have lost 2 years and lost 90% (because the vehicle can be used only for commercial use) of the market."
The final notification will lay down broader specifications of size & dimension, weight, power etc, but the MORTH will then give the responsibility to the testing agency ARAI or ICAT for the statutory order. In the statutory order, the testing agencies will come out with finer aspects of vehicle specification like the key parameters needed for safety, emission etc.
Post the framing of the statutory order , the vehicle will go through road tests under new rules. If it confirms to standards set by the testing agency, then the vehicle will be allowed to register under Union of India. Since it is meant for public transport, the quadricycle is likely to get separate permits just like the three wheelers and taxis to ply on roads from Regional Transport Offices of various state governments.
For the first time, a new category of vehicle has been created, since the framing of Central Motor Vehicle Act, respective state governments may have additional say on the category of the vehicle and on the number of vehicles allowed. West Bengal state government has already expressed interest to this new category of vehicles. Bajaj Auto is in the process of reaching out to various other state governments for selling the vehicle. Bajaj is upset with the protraction in clearance of the proposal and says the advantage of the first mover may not be there for long.
There was a division within the industry on creating this new category of vehicle, which Bajaj claimed was more to delay the framing of policy then blocking it. "M&M is definitely developing the vehicle, they have said so.
I have no doubt that Tata are also developing a quadricycle, their objective was to delay things so that they can catch up, it was not that they were opposing it. A week before his death, Karl (Slym) managing director of Tata Motors too had expressed his interest. I met Venu (Srinivasan), chairman and managing director of TVS Motor Company at the Expo, he did not say so, but I am sure TVS is working on it and so is Piaggio. I think they have all been working on it for two years, the lead which we thought we would get, we would not get now," added Bajaj.
Considered as the safer alternative to the three wheelers , Quadricycles will be allowed to ply only in cities as transport vehicles and not as a personal vehicle. The quadricycle, is a step-up from traditional auto rickshaws but significantly cheaper than a car because of its weight, power and speed. According to the specification known so far, the vehicle meant for carrying passengers has to be of 450 kg and for carrying goods should be of 550 kg.
The length will be 3 metre for passenger version and 3.7 metre for goods version. Quadricycles can carry a maximum of four passengers anda goods vehicles can carry 500 kg. Bajaj Auto's RE60 has a kerb weight of 450 kgs, emits 50 gms of carbon dioxide per kilometer and delivers high fuel efficiency of over 35-40 kilometers per litre.
