Bajaj Qute

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Bajaj
Bajaj Qute
Bajaj Qute
Qute
Production period: since 2013
Class : Light vehicle
Body versions : limousine
Engines: Otto engine :
0.2 liters
(9.71 kW)
Length: 2752 mm
Width: 1312 mm
Height: 1652 mm
Wheelbase : 1925 mm
Empty weight : 450 kg
Stars in the Euro NCAP - Crash Test (2016) 1 star

The Bajaj Qute, originally developed together with Renault-Nissan as the Bajaj RE60 , is a light motor vehicle with speeds of up to 70 km / h from the Indian motorcycle and auto rickshaw manufacturer Bajaj Auto .

Conception

It is the manufacturer's first four-wheeled vehicle and has a maximum of four seats. It was developed for city traffic but could not be registered as a private car in India until around mid-2018. The manufacturer, who designed the vehicle as the successor to a three-wheel rickshaw for city traffic, fought for recognition of a new vehicle division, "Quadricycle". On May 22, 2013, the vehicle was registered in India, but initially only as a rickshaw for commercial use. There are fears in the Indian automotive industry that the new market segment could displace inexpensive car models. The vehicle has now received ARAI approval according to the new Indian Quadricycle standards. With a sales price of around 1900 euros, it is the cheapest car in the world, even cheaper than the discontinued Tata Nano , which is considered an economic flop.

development

The vehicle was created as an ultra-low-cost project (ULC) and was first presented as a concept vehicle at the Auto Expo 2008. After Renault withdrew from the project, Bajaj's development continued on its own. In 2012 the fully developed vehicle was presented in India with a specified speed of 35 km / h. Since then, the company has been trying to obtain road approval for a new vehicle class. A variant with a 200 cm³ single-cylinder engine and 14.71 kW (20 hp) was planned, which would be 24 km per liter (approx. 4.2 l / 100 km) in urban areas and 35 km per liter (approx. 2.8 l / 100 km). A model with more comfort features was also planned, but only the simple RE60 was developed for series production. The development of a model variant for three people was apparently also not pursued any further. However, the originally targeted price of 60,000 rupees (around 740 euros) was considered unrealistic from the start, with the first export vehicles costing 2000 US dollars (1730 euros).

features

drive

The Qute has a water-cooled gasoline engine with four valves and the triple ignition with three spark plugs called by Bajaj DTSi ("Digital Tri-Spark Ignition"). Engine variants for operation with natural gas (CNG) and liquid gas (LPG) should also be available. The fuel consumption should be 36 kilometers per liter (2.8 liters per 100 kilometers). The engine is arranged as a rear engine under the back seat. The vehicle has a sequential transmission , modular with five gears and reverse gear from motorcycle production.

body

According to the manufacturer, when developing the vehicle, a self-supporting body made of steel with cladding parts made of plastic with high-strength steels was used. The four-door is equipped with front disc brakes and drum brakes in the rear. An instrument cluster is arranged in the middle and is therefore suitable for left-hand and right-hand traffic. There are storage boxes to the left and right of it, there are smaller pockets on all doors on the sides, there is additional storage space under the fold-up front seats, the relatively flat backrest can be folded down in two parts, behind which there is storage space about the depth of a briefcase. The actual trunk is located under the front flap, which also hides the fuel filler neck. The vehicle is 2752 mm long, 1312 mm wide, 1652 mm high and has a wheelbase of 1925 mm, the turning circle should be 7 m.

safety

The vehicle, which has seat belts (without belt tensioners) but no airbags, did not pass the crash test. According to the Focus , the vehicle is safe only in comparison with motorcycle rickshaws or two-wheelers. There is a significant risk of injury, especially in the head and chest area. A door was torn from its anchoring in a side crash. The safety concerns were the main reason that the targeted sales launch in India was postponed for 2015. The ADAC awards 4 out of 16 points for a frontal crash and 6 out of 16 for a side crash. In a frontal collision, the unstable passenger cell and the contact between the head, thighs and pelvis with hard structures were criticized; the side crash could have led to serious or even fatal injuries. There is also no regular grille to reinforce the impact protection.

Market status

There was no official information on a registration in India after 2013, but the Focus speculated in October 2016 that this must have been done because the vehicle was on display at the dealers in the showrooms. In contrast, the manufacturer called on the local population until around mid-2018 using the hashtag #FreeTheQute to campaign for the recognition of the new vehicle division. After the presence in Turkey, export is planned to 35 other countries, next in Sri Lanka, as well as to Asian, African and Latin American countries (as of January 2019). In Europe, Russia, Poland and Ukraine are targeted. Individual model variants are approved in Germany with reduced weight and limited speed for AM drivers from the age of 16, but the European Union, with the exception of Poland, is not one of the manufacturer's targeted export markets. A model variant is available online (as of 2018) in the EU at a price of around 6,600 euros with a 216.6 cm³ four-stroke engine and a top speed of 70 km / h.

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Abhilasha Singh: Bajaj Qute: What it is and why cant it be sold in India. financialexpress.com, accessed on August 23, 2018
  2. ↑ Euro NCAP - Quadricycles & Microcars. In: euroncap.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2018 (English, minutes: https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/22124/bajaj_qute_2016_datasheet.pdf , PDF; 913 kB).
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Bajaj RE60. In: cartrade.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2015 ; Retrieved on August 23, 2018 (English, advance notice on cartrade.com, before November 19, 2014 (see timeline in the web archive)).
  4. ↑ Suveen K. Sinha: How Rajiv Bajaj created a quadricycle and why nobody likes him for it. In: businesstoday.in. September 29, 2013, accessed August 26, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Indian government releases draft notification on Quadricycles; Advantage Bajaj RE 60 - Indian Cars Bikes . Indiancarsbikes.in (in the web archive of April 10, 2018). Retrieved July 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ A bout us - The vehicle's own presentation on the manufacturer's website, accessed on January 8, 2018
  7. ↑ a b c Sebastian Viehmann: Better than walking: This is now the cheapest car in the world. Focus Online, October 6, 2016
  8. ↑ Siddharth: The cheapest car in the world from Bajaj is not on offer. zigwheels.com, August 1, 2017, accessed August 23, 2018
  9. ↑ a b Qute - Bajaj Qute- Technical Specifications. In: bajajauto.com. Accessed August 26, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Qute - Bajaj Qute - The Greenest 4-wheeler. In: bajajauto.com. Accessed August 26, 2018 .
  11. ↑ a b New light vehicle ( memento of the original from August 23, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - tü-taunus.de, accessed on August 23, 2018 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / xn--t-taunus-65a.de
  12. ↑ Bajaj Qute. ADAC, light vehicle crash test, accessed on August 24, 2018
  13. ↑ Access on the manufacturer's website in the web archive of August 26, 2018
  14. ↑ Export status on the manufacturer's website, accessed on January 8, 2018