Safety credentials prevent Bajaj Qute sales in India

Several PILs against the Qute, questioning its safety credentials are preventing it from going on sale in India.As part of its derisking strategy for Bajaj Auto has stepped up the export operations for the Bajaj Qute which is entangled in a legal mess in India. The Quadricycle made its debut in Turkey and is now exported to 20 nations.

According to data from the import/export website Zauba, the controversial quadricycle has been shipped to several nations across the globe.

The list includes nations such as Djibouti, Peru, Guatemala, Turkey, Somalia, Liberia, Honduras, Sudan, Madagascar, Finland, Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Russia.

The Qute which was formerly known as RE60 is powered by a 217 cc single-cylinder water-cooled engine which benefits from fuel injection and DTS-i technologies. The motor is mated to a 5-speed sequential gearbox to produce 13.5 PS and 19.6 Nm of torque. The vehicle is claimed to deliver a mileage of 36 kmpl and emit 66 g of CO2 every km.

In Europe, the Qute can be driven with Class B driving license and it has received Whole Vehicle Type Approval). The top speed is limited to 70 kmph.

In the quadricycle crash tests conducted by Euro NCAP, the Bajaj Qute managed to receive 1-star rating. It’s worth noting that the test speeds and parameters for a quadricycle are less stringent that they are for a regular passenger car.

This article has first appeared in Rushlane.com