According to Bajaj Auto Limited, the second largest two wheeler manufacturer of India, its compact four wheeler RE 60 will be launched as a Commercial Vehicle (CV) by the end of FY 2012. This vehicle has been designed primarily to fulfil the requirement for a comfortable intra-city transportation option.
Senior Vice President (VP), Business Development, Bajaj Auto Limited, S. Ravikumar, said, "The commercial production of RE60 will begin by the end of this fiscal and the launch will also happen at the same time." However, upon being question further, he refused to divulge details like potential manufacturing capacity for the four wheeler.
Bajaj unwrapped the RE 60, which has been launched as an alternative to three wheelers that ply mainly in cities, at the 2012 New Delhi Auto Expo held in January 2012. Earlier in 2008, the two wheeler manufacturing giant exhibited a concept version of a small car which was to be developed in a joint venture with Renault-Nissan, but was shelved.
The company said that it may look at the possibility of selling the RE60 model, which runs on a 200 cc rear-mounted powertrain, in the markets where it exports three wheeler CVs. It has invested more than four years on developing this model, which offers top speed of 70 kmph and mileage of close to 35 kmpl.
When probed about the prospects of this small car with the Renault-Nissan, Ravikumar said, "We have shown the product to them. However, we have not received any reply from them yet." According to the agreement between the two companies, Bajaj was responsible for developing and producing the vehicle, which was to be sold under the badge of the Franco-Japanese alliance.
In January 2008, the Indian company joined hands with Renault to work on an Ultra Low Cost (ULC) car project. In the same year, it pulled the covers off a concept passenger car that was to be priced at USD 3000. Owing to the conflicts between the partnering companies on price and design, the ULC which was to be rolled out in the country in 2011 got delayed.
Referring to Bajaj Auto's share in Austrian bike manufacturer KTM, Ravikumar commented, "Currently we own about 47% stake and the promoters have 51%. Further stake increase is not on the cards immediately." He further added that the company will concentrate more upon coming up with new motorcycles in partnership with KTM and releasing them in developing markets in the near future.
