Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is meeting officials of other ministries and members of industry body SIAM and I-CAT on May 16 to deliberate on the proposal for allowing “quadricycles” to ply on Indian roads.
“We have received the proposal from I-CAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology), it is a long report...We are going through it,” a Road Ministry official said without disclosing the details of the report.
A quadricycle, also referred to as a quadracycle or quadcycle pedal car, is a four-wheeled powered vehicle.
The Road Ministry, next week, will hold discussions with all stakeholders -- Ministry of Environment and Forests, Heavy Industry Ministry, industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), I-CAT -- on the proposed quadricycle to be introduced in India.
“The meeting with all the stakeholders is on May 16,” the official said. Bajaj Auto has been lobbying for allowing the new class of four-wheelers or quadricycles to enable it to commercially launch its RE60.
The automobile major is trying to position it as an intra-city passenger transportation vehicle, targeting the auto-rickshaw segment.
The company had last year unveiled the RE60, which is powered by a 200 cc petrol engine with a top speed of 70 kilometre per hour (kmph) and with a mileage of 35 kilometre per litre (kmpl).
While RE60 does not qualify as a car at present, Tata Motors’ Nano, powered by a 624 cc petrol engine, meets all the criteria and is being sold as a small car.