Reference Auto

We are going to see new four-wheelers on our roads soon with the government giving green light to quadricycles to ply on the city’s streets but are they going to be a threat to our omnipresent auto rickshaws?

So, what is a quadricycle? Well, the simplest answer would be that it is something in between a Tata Nano and an auto rickshaw. It is a hard-bodied structure with doors and is safer than auto rickshaws. The maximum speed they can touch is substantially lower than four-wheelers.

But the engine is almost the same as an auto rickshaw. These quadricycles will come with engines in the range of 250 cc, which are similar to that of auto rickshaws.

In contrast, the engine of the Nano is 615 cc, which implies that these quadricycles do not even come close in comfort levels in comparison to the Nano.

On the other hand, four-wheelers have an engine which is above 800 cc and luxury cars have engine capacity above 2,000 cc.

So, the comfort levels and stability are much higher for four-wheelers compared to a quadricycle.

But the sad part is that you cannot buy one for your family as these quadricycles have been allowed only for commercial use, such as a taxi. If allowed to buy, a quadricycle, like the one developed by Bajaj (the RE60) would come for Rs 1.25 lakh.

A government panel has given permission to the quadricycles to ply as a public transport vehicle but within the city’s municipal limits.

This decision would bring smiles to the faces of certain companies like Bajaj Auto, which would immediately step up production of the RE60. So are India’s metro cities going to see RE60 taxis in the near future, say in about six months to a year?

After the decision to introduce quadricycles, a road ministry statement said, “A separate category has been set aside for the quadricycle adopting present norms notified in the three-wheeler category of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) or the European Union quadricycle, whichever is more stringent.”

Quadricycles have been distinguished from cars – they will have to carry a ‘Q’ sign written on them in a bid to distinguish these vehicles from ‘other’ four-wheelers. 

The nod for quadricycles finally came after a dispute with car makers, who wanted to stall the entry of these new four-wheelers, ended.

It was initially thought that these quadricycles could end the dominance of three-wheelers but that is unlikely to happen even in the long run as four-wheelers, quadricycles and three-wheelers would operate in their own space while catering to India’s burgeoning population.