Karl Slym is all ears when told that there is a ‘school of thought’ in favour of the quadricycle concept for India.
“A school of thought, from my understanding, is about a collection of people from a variety of knowledgeable places that can provide the thought and help out with the future. These experts can explain the mobility plan for India,” reasons the Managing Director of Tata Motors.
Slym, therefore, wonders if the time has come to draw up a fresh roadmap for the automotive industry. This has become even more relevant with Bajaj Auto’s RE60 having got the go-ahead to operate on Indian roads.
Previously, as he adds, the ‘school of thought’ was to grow India’s capabilities in line with markets that were more advanced.
“If it now wants to do something else, this should be understandable and explainable not only to the industry, but to everybody as to why the country needs to go in that direction and if that is the best way,” says Slym.
In his view, if these experts get together and decide that this is a great solution for India to be able to move forward, then it certainly would not be a regressive move.
“Let us have a roadmap for India and if another segment is considered the best path forward in India in all manners of mobility including safety and emissions, so be it,” adds Slym.
Hence, even if there is a move for change in a different direction, this should become part of the discussions between the industry and Government. It is in this context that a roadmap becomes imperative for the next decade which could include new mobility solutions such as quadricycles and “even pentacycles”.
“Our discussions at an industry level and with Government bodies have always focused on the future and the things we need to do to catch up with the rest of the world,” says Slym.
A section of traffic management experts believes it is a good idea to reduce vehicle speed given that Indian roads account for the highest deaths worldwide. This has also become an argument to support the cause of the quadricycle.
Slym does not quite subscribe to this idea.
“The progressive thought, instead, is that we are going to have roads and build infrastructure that allows people to move around freely and, hopefully, faster as well. Why make speed the culprit? Why don’t we make vehicles safer instead in the first place?” he counters.