As Bajaj gears up to launch its RE60, the country’s first ever quadricycle, on September 25, Tata Motors is holding talks with various state governments to get permission for selling the Magic Iris as a metered taxi.
The Tata Magic Iris 5 seater metered taxi would emerge as a safer alternative to a quadricycle which in turn is being positioned as a safer alternative to a three-wheeled auto rickshaw. Talking to Business Standard, Ravi Pishorody, executive director, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, stated that the Magic Iris complies with the M1 norms or safety. M1 represents the category of four wheelers with seating capacity of up to 8 passengers plus a driver.
He also added that several state governments including Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat and Rajasthan have already approved the Magic Iris to be sold as metered taxis.
As of now, the Bajaj RE60 is the only quadricycle in India that is market ready. The launch has been facing legal hurdles in the for of PILs which argue that the quadricycle is unsafe and pollutes the environment more than an auto rickshaw.
Nevertheless, Bajaj appears to have finally received enough leeway to go ahead and launch the product as a strictly intra-city commercial mobility solution. The company is also developing a variant for private use in the hope that the government will eventually give a green signal.
The Bajaj RE60 is estimated to have a price tag of around INR 2.0 lakhs (ex-showroom) which is considerably less than the bigger Tata Magic Iris which is priced at INR 2.35 lakhs (ex-showroom).
Via – Business-standard.com
