On the 6th of April 2016, Global NCAP revealed their crash test safety report on Bajaj Qute quadricycle. In the test, Bajaj Qute was awarded 1-star safety rating.
On the 7th April, Bajaj claimed the following in their press release –
Speaking of cars, in a recent Euro NCAP report, the Bajaj Qute was accorded a 1 (one) star rating, superior to the 0 (zero) star rating of popular cars including the VW Polo, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10, Maruti Alto, and Tata Nano.
VW India has now come forward and refuted Bajaj’s misleading claim which basically implies that their new Qute quadricycle is safer than Polo.
Yes, VW Polo did score a 0-star safety rating, but that was for the variant without airbags. VW India immediately removed the said Polo variant from the line-up after the Global NCAP crash test. This resulted in VW Polo becoming the safest hatchback in its segment on sale in India with a 4-star safety rating.
Clarifying their stand on the statement which claimed Qute being safer than some of the cars on sale in India, Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto has stated the below-
1. Do we infer basis the results that we have seen that the Qute has achieved a safety rating on par with several European quadricycles & superior to many other European quadricycles?
The answer is yes.
2. Do we infer basis the results that we have seen that while the Qute has achieved a 1-star rating in its category of quadricycles, several popular small cars have achieved a 0-star rating in their category?
The answer is yes.
3. Did we therefore mean to suggest that the Qute appears to have done RELATIVELY better in its tests than those cars did in theirs?
The answer is yes.
4. Did we mean to suggest any more than this by implying that quadricycles & cars are one category, undergo the same tests, & hence that these results are DIRECTLY comparable?
Absolutely not.
We would equally respectfully suggest that in the future global ncap reflect a little longer & exhibit greater maturity in drawing conclusions before venturing to cast unwarranted aspersion upon an organization that has a track record for integrity & performance as does Bajaj Auto.
Rajiv Bajaj,
MD,
Bajaj Auto, India.