The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has approved the quadricycle as a new class of vehicle. They have also issued a notification on the standards for quadricycles, which covers areas like weight, emission and safety worthiness.
A quadricycle is defined as a vehicle with kerb weight under 475kg, and it will have to pass the new safety and crash tests that have been mandated. It will also clear emission tests for various powertrains including petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, hybrid and even electric. The safety standards are said to be even stricter than European standards for quadricycles.
This move will help Bajaj launch its Qute finally. The Qute is a quadricycle that has, till now, been barred from being launched in India due to a legal dispute regarding the category it fell into. Bajaj Auto has already introduced the Qute in 11 international markets so far and intends to launch it in 10 more markets by the end of the year. Last fiscal, Bajaj exported 5,000 units of the Qute.
The Qute will launch in India once it gets approval from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).
