The bitter battle between manufacturers of the proposed ‘quadricycles’ and carmakers appears to have ended in a draw.
The Government on Wednesday paved the way for the relatively sturdier hard-bodied and four-wheeled quadricycles to operate on Indian roads, but disallowed them from being sold for private use.
The decision will pave the way for Bajaj Auto’s RE60 which was first displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012. Quadricycles have been touted as a ‘safer’ alternative to three-wheeled auto-rickshaws, which provide last mile connectivity in most Indian towns.
The new policy stipulates that quadricycles can only be used as commercial vehicles with the symbol ‘Q’ for identification. The Government will now prepare a final draft on the specifications of the vehicle.
“We will send the draft notification to the Ministries concerned in the next 10 days. The vehicle will have to comply with the guiding rules,” a senior official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.
According to him, the Government would then decide other specifications relating to headlamp, rear-view mirrors, door handles, and so on. “We do not know what company will make what design, but the curb weight and dimension of the vehicle will remain the same,” the official said.
Asked if the quadricycle will eventually replace the conventional three-wheeler, he said only time would tell and that both categories would co-exist for the moment. “The vehicle with the better technology will finally exist in the future,” he added.
All norms for commercial vehicles, such as compulsory CNG in some States, will apply to quadricycles as well. Air-conditioners will not be mandatory as such low-horse powered vehicles cannot take the load, the official said.
Separate category
A meeting held earlier in the day, under the chairmanship of Vijay Chhiber, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, discussed the issue of amendment of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. This was intended to include quadricycles as an additional vehicle category to be made and registered in the country.
“It was decided that a separate category be proposed for notification to include quadricycle with specifications adopting present norms notified in the 3-wheeler category (L5) in the CMVR or the European Union quadricycle, whichever is more stringent,” the Ministry said.
It was also decided that the quadricycle be recommended for registration under commercial transport category for intra-city movement within the municipal limits only. Such vehicles can only be driven only by licensed (commercial) drivers.
The RE60 faced stiff opposition from Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and TVS Motor, while support reportedly came from Mahindra & Mahindra, Piaggio and Eicher. The bone of contention largely related to safety vis-à-vis cars even though this vehicle is primarily intended to upgrade the three-wheeler user.
Bajaj was also not keen to have the quadricycle confined to the commercial vehicle space but the Government has made it clear that it is out of the purview of the personal buying segment.
This will be a relief to a section of carmakers who were worried that its competitive price tag of around Rs 1.5 lakh would eat into their sales.
The Government has also indicated that in the future, revised norms for this category as notified by the EU will be made applicable six months from the date of implementation of the revised (EU) norms after due diligence.