The Government of India has finally approved a new type of four-wheelers today, the Quadricycle. As you may have read previously, the Government and the auto industry were divided over the creation of Quadricycles with some manufacturers and CEO's taking stands against it.
The move comes after a meeting under the chairmanship of Road Secretary, Mr. Vijay Chhibber.
So how does one identify a Quadricycle plying on the road? An identification symbol 'Q' will be displayed on the Quadricycles, just like how trailer buses and lorries carry the 'T' symbol.
Quadricycles will have to be commercially registered as the Govt. has not approved private ownership yet. The driver has to have a specific license to be legally eligible to use it.
Quadricycles will be permitted to run on intra-city roads within municipal limits (city and rural roads).
"A separate category has been proposed for notification to include quadricyle with specifications adopting present norms notified in the 3-wheeler category of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) or the European Union quadricycle, whichever is more stringent," a Road Ministry statement said.
The statement goes further to say that the Quadricycles will be considered as a step up from the three-wheelers.
Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, says that the production of the RE60 will commence "very soon".
When asked if the 'commercial only' tag of the RE60 was a half-victory of sorts, Mr. Bajaj said that eventually a four-wheeler would have to be permitted to be owned and driven in a manner similar to the two and three-wheelers.
[Source - EconomicTimes.indiatimes.com]
