Bajaj Auto has announced launch prices for its Qute quadricycle in Maharashtra. While the petrol-engined variant for personal use costs Rs 248,000, the CNG variant for commercial use is priced at Rs 278,000 (ex-showroom).
Bajaj Auto has already launched the Qute in a number of states including Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. With the Qute being produced in the Aurangabad plant, the ex-showroom price in Maharashtra is about Rs 15,000 less than the Qute’s price in Delhi.
The Qute quadricycle is powered by a 216cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine that develops 13.2hp and 18.9Nm of torque (petrol) and 11hp and 16.1Nm of torque on CNG. It comes with a five-speed sequential manual gearbox. Based on its size (2,752mm long, 1,312mm wide, 1,652mm tall and with a 1,925mm wheelbase), the Qute will be the smallest production four-wheeler on India’s roads.
Urban mobility alternative
Meant to be an urban mobility alternative, the Qute weighs just 452kg (the CNG Qute weighs 504kg), has an ARAI-rated mileage of 35kpl on petrol (43km/kg on CNG) and a 7-metre turning diameter. The Qute quadricycle comes equipped with 12-inch alloy wheels.
Until November 2018, quadricycles could be registered only for commercial use – although that has chanhged, now that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has added quadricycles to the ‘non-transport’ category of vehicles.
Bajaj Auto has till now sold 627 Qutes in the Indian market (in FY2019), since sales in the domestic market were only allowed recently. On the export front, the company has been shipping the quadricycle since FY2016 and has till end-2019 exported a total of 7,895 units.