Bajaj Qute is the name of RE60 – India launch awaits Supreme Court order

Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, one of the largest two wheeler maker in India, has officially unveiled the RE60. Branded as ‘Qute’, Bajaj has not launched the quadricycle in India, but has announced that the production has started and it will purely be for export markets for now.

The reason for not launching Bajaj Qute in India, is because the company is awaiting Supreme Court’s verdict, which has not yet decided on allowing quadricycles to ply on Indian roads or not (due to safety reasons). Bajaj wanted to see the Qute first on Indian roads, but the delay in verdict has been longer than expected. Thus, they have decided to go ahead with their production plans, and for now the quadricycle will only be exported.

Speaking about the name, Bajaj says that they decided on the name Qute because in their research it was revealed that the first responses that came to the mind of their consumers after seeing the vehicle was either ‘Cute’ or ‘Beautiful’.

Bajaj says that the Qute is powered by a 4 valve water cooled DTSi engine which is mated to a manual transmission. The Qute has a top speed of 70 kmph with a mileage of 36 kmph. Carbon emissions stand at 66 gm per km. Bajaj Auto did not reveal how much power and torque it delivers, or what is the engine’s cubic capacity.

The concept which was shown previously, was powered by a 200 cc DTSi engine, similar to the one seen on the company’s Pulsar 200 engine.

Bajaj Auto says that the “Qute has been designed in response to evolving requirements of low cost, last mile public transport across the world by optimizing size, weight, cost and speed.”

Bajaj will export the Qute to 16 countries, in countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Price of the Qute in these countries will be at around $2,000 (INR 1.35 lakh).

Qute is the first Indian made Quadricycle to meet the stringent European Quadricycle norms and get the European WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) certification awarded by RDW Netherlands.

Management Speak

Mr. Rakesh Sharma, President, International Business, Bajaj Auto said, “Over the years, the Bajaj RE has become a part of the social fabric in many countries. Apart from being an effective last mile transportation solution it also provides employment to millions. With Qute, we are now raising the bar and ushering in a new solution of transportation that is cleaner, safer and more comfortable. Our partners across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe are excited about the growth opportunities that Qute can bring for us.”

Mr Abraham Joseph, CTO, Bajaj Auto said, “We have applied all our two-wheeler expertise of light weight vehicle engineering & super-efficient powertrain technology based on DTS-i, to create the Qute. We use high strength steel body along with impact resistant plastic closures to achieve this. The small displacement high performance 4 Valve engine uses closed loop fuel injection & triple spark ignition. Coupled with the 5 speed gear box, it gives outstanding fuel efficiency & emission performance. The engine is water cooled for long life.”

Qute Product Specs

Bajaj Qute Features