Bajaj is likely to begin testing of the RE60 in Pune in the coming weeks. The RE60 is falsely conceived as a competitor to the Tata Nano and comparisons are flying about in the media that thrash the RE60′s inability to match up to the lofty standards set by the similarly-priced Nano.

During its unveiling prior to the Delhi Auto Expo, Bajaj said the RE60 was designed as a graduation from a three-wheeler and in places where it is used as a form of personal transport, the RE60 would fare well. Bajaj cited Sri Lanka as one of the countries where this is observed.

Bajaj showed two variants of the RE60 at the unveiling. The vehicles on display had a digital fare meter positioned on the passenger side of the dashboard. The RE60 lacks safety and convenience features like power steering and air-conditioning. It is however a safer means of transport compared to the three-wheeled autorickshaw as it has doors and rides on four wheels. It is powered by a 200cc twin spark petrol engine producing 20bhp of power while returning 35-40kmpl.

The RE60 is a rival to the likes of the Tata Ace Zip and Mahindra Gio Compact Cab. Interestingly these two models are driven only using diesel engines.

We’re in the dark as to when Bajaj will introduce the RE60 in the Indian market, but media channels are reporting that the launch is expected to unfold by the end of this fiscal. Bajaj is expected to use the same platform to roll out more variants in the future.

Questions were raised for this rather unique product positioning. Many also compared the RE60 to the Tata Nano. Rajiv Bajaj is at it again clarifying our doubts about the RE60.

While speaking to Business Standard, Mr Bajaj said that the RE60 is not a Tata Nano rival because the Nano was envisioned for people who are looking to upgrade from a motorcycle to a car but do not have the financial backing. On the other hand, the RE60 is meant only for auto drivers and their passengers.

It gives the assurance of comfort and safety to the three-wheeler owners. It will be slightly more expensive than a three wheeler but returns 35-40kmpl mileage in real world conditions. It will also be the same size of an Auto rickshaw and will cost the same to maintain as well.

He clarified that the RE60 is not targeted at the four-wheeler segment. And he has no intention of claiming that the RE 60 is the cheapest car in the world.

[Source: business-standard.com]

The Bajaj RE60 was showcased just a day before the 2012 Auto Expo. It is powered by a 200cc rear mounted engine with a top speed of 70 kmph and a fuel economy of 35 kmpl. Rajiv Bajaj clearly demarcated that the RE60 was not a car but rather a three wheeler with an extra wheel.

The idea was that the RE60 would replace the auto rickshaw (or any other generic three wheeler) as a much safer and comfortable option.

However, after taking a closer look at the product, Renault Nissan is shying away from selling it under their umbrella. Renault-Nissan wanted a low cost car for people who wanted to shift away from motorcycles but at the end of the day it had to be a car. Renault-Nissan believes that the RE60 is not a car and thus cannot be sold under the Renault-Nissan brand.

In another development, Nissan has made an official announcement that it wants to revive the Datsun brand and the first car to carry the new Datsun badge would be a Tata Nano rival.

[Source: Hindustantimes.com]

The report has Mr Rajiv Bajaj, CEO of Bajaj Auto, on record stating that Sri Lanka is a market where the company has established a strong retail network and it gives them confidence to launch it there.

Why Sri Lanka?

Bajaj sells 10,000 units of the three-wheeler every month in Sri Lanka where they are bought for personal use. The stigma of it as a cheap people carrier is not attached to it.

Isn’t the RE60 a competitor to the Tata Nano?

The RE60 will be produced in Aurungabad with a 200cc petrol engine capable producing around 20hp and delivering 35-40kmpl in real world conditions. The RE60 is built for the “city taxi” segment where operators are traveling short distances with a tight budget.

There’s no hiding that the RE60 is made for the commercial segment as even the top-end model has a fare meter mounted on the dashboard. For the same reason Bajaj retails it under the “RE” brand, which is its commercial vehicle business.

[Source - FoxBusiness.com]

It was seen as a logical evolution, the four wheeler by virtue of its design is safer and more stable than a three wheeler. Bajaj has promised a real world fuel efficiency of over 35 kmpl from the RE60′s 200cc twin-spark engine, almost double of what the three-wheeler can manage. The comfort, space and convenience factors are better, and the launch of the superior RE60 would sound the death knell for the trike.

But seeing these recent spyshots of a what is believed to be the Bajaj rickshaw facelift coming in from Pune, one believes the three-wheeler could stage a miraculous escape and tell the whole world about it!

Bajaj is testing a facelift for the autorickshaw, the one spied here is the everyday model’s larger cousin. Bajaj has a variety of variants including 2S petrol, 4S petrol, GDI and diesel and the mule spied could be any one of them.

Like its rivals from Piaggio and TVS, the vehicle sports twin headlights and a sculpted front wheel cover. Bajaj will not invest on a model that it sees no future in. It seems like the era of the Bajaj three-wheeler has not yet come to an end!

5 reasons why Bajaj made the RE60

Here are some of the questions Rajiv Bajaj answered in today morning’s unveiling

Keywords -

Light weight – 400kg
Fuel efficiency – 40kmpl in Bajaj’s internal tests
Small dimensions – Comparable to Mercedes Benz’s Smart brand – it takes a little more than the parking space of an auto rickshaw.

Safety -

The four-wheeler by nature of its design, is safer than a three-wheeler. It has seat belts at the front and rear, hard top and doors. The body is seven times more rigid than the three-wheeler.

Powertrain – Why no diesel?

It is powered by a 200cc, water-cooled, DTSi engine (twin spark technology of Bajaj) that delivers 15-20bhp with a top speed of 70kph. The real world mileage is expected to be upward of 35kmpl while the tail pipe emissions are half as an average A-Segment car. The RE60, like we suspected last week, is a Tata Magic Iris with a petrol engine. Rajiv Bajaj told IndianAutosBlog.com that his company manufactures light vehicles and diesel engines don’t go very well with light weight. Bajaj insisted that CNG, LPG and petrol were the fuel options the 400kg RE60 will be rolled out with.

Features -

The company did not allow reporters and guests to sit in the vehicle. The interiors are bare bones and scantily equipped with a cost-saving dash-mounted gear lever, digital instrument cluster, two glove boxes instead of Nano’s scoops and a fare meter on the passenger side. There is 44 liters of boot space behind the rear passenger and 7 liters under the hood. There could be two variants, one missing basic amenities like windows and low-cost interior pitched as a three-wheeler alternative and a slightly more upmarket variant with body colored fitments, dual tone interior positioned for personal transportation.

Rajiv Bajaj on the partnership with Renault-Nissan -

“With small or big modifications, we’re in a position to supply the same vehicle to Renault and Nissan if they so wish.”

He then added “we’ve kept all our options open. In terms of what their response is, I can tell you they have not seen the physical product because it was put together just in time for today’s launch. They told us that they would come to the Auto Expo to see the product in its flesh so to speak and then they would discuss with us the matter of the cooperation further. So things stand exactly where they stood, we proceeded with the development, we have our own vehicle standing, Renault-Nissan are welcome to come and have a look, what they will decide is something you must ask them.”

Price -

We expect Bajaj to price the RE60 between 1.5-1.75 lakh rupees.

Bottom Line -

Bajaj RE60 is not a car. Bajaj terms itself as an anti-car company. It has set about making the next generation three-wheeler even if that meant adding a fourth wheel!

Bajaj RE60 Comprehensive Image Slideshow

Head over to the Bajaj RE60 Flickr Page to view all the images manually.

What is the RE60?

A last mile transportation solution for people.

Dealership network – This will go through RE dealerships (commercial vehicle network). I hope this will motivate dealers to spruce up dealership.

Despite the success with the motorcycles, Bajaj has taken its eyes of the 3-wheeler business of which it is the largest auto market – half a million 3-wheeler sales this year.

Four year journey ends today with the launch of this four-wheeler.

This is a 4-wheeled vehicle – Pride and aspiration associated with a 4-wheeler present on this product.

100% new petrol engine – fuel injected, water cooled, 4 valves, twin spark technology – 60g/km of CO2 emissions – typically half what current small car emits. The engine is mounted at the rear.

We want to sell it as a mass volume price.

I’m happy to share that this vehicle returned 40kmpl in testing and on the road, users should experience 35kmpl at least.

Host of vehicle features – normally not associated with this segment – is present on the RE60 – We’re bringing features from segments above.

350 crore rupees saved because of space and tooling sharing at the Aurangabad factory. The same plant produces three-wheelers and production of RE60 will begin in the next few months.

A market like Sri Lanka uses the Bajaj Autorickshaw as a form of personal transport. Hence this vehicle may be out on the export market before it reaches local dealerships.

There are 5 million Bajaj three-wheelers on the market, and the RE60 is built to serve as a replacement with better features, safety and many more credentials.

Bajaj RE60 – Fast facts

• Light weight monocoque metal polymer hybrid structure
• Closed-loop fuel injection system
• Powered by a 200cc water cooled, 4 valve, DTSI technology will make around 20hp – Can ply in Europe as a quadircycle
• Petrol, CNG and LPG are the only fuel options – Diesel engine not under consideration as this is a light weight vehicle
• 44 liter rear boot storage, 7 liter under the hood and 400 liters when the seats are folded down
• Max speed 70kph
• Turning circle radius – 3.5m
• Length – 2,752mm
• Width – 1,312mm
• Height – 1,650mm
• Seating Capacity – 2+2 or 1+3
• Kerb weight 400kg

Bajaj RE60 Image Gallery

Our pals BSMotoring have presented us a small pic which they claim is the actual model. The model presented in the picture sort of looks like the Reva (a.k.a G-Wiz). The RE60 is may look like a car but Bajaj Auto claims that it isn’t one. The company has made it quite clear that it doesn’t intend to build another Tata Nano. According to Bajaj, the RE60 will be perfect, low-cost transportation solution; a three wheeler with one extra wheel for stability. We have no idea how to make sense of it all. Seeing the vehicle on the 3rd is the only way to understand Bajaj’s proposition.

Anyways, coming back to the RE60. The ‘RE’ stands for ‘Rear Engined’ and the 60 stands for the 60 g/km of CO2 that the car produces. The RE60 will be powered by a 700-800 cc engine with priority given to fuel economy. The estimated figure is around 30 kmpl.

The RE60 will be a significant step forward for Bajaj Auto as the platform will spawn many variations in the future. Even the next generation Bajaj RE Auto Rickshaw three-wheeler could be based on the flexible ULC platform.

Although the project was initially conceived in partnership with Renault-Nissan, the car does not feature in Renault’s five product plan. So whether this car will carry a Renault/Nissan badge will only depend on they how perceive the final product.

[Source: BSMotoring.com]

Development of the four-wheeler is complete. It is powered by a 800cc petrol engine (Nano is powered by a 624cc two-cylinder mill) capable of returning close to 30kpl. The report states it will be more spacious than the Nano.

The Tata Magic Iris and the Piaggio NT3 concept are good examples of low-cost four-wheelers

The ULC is similar to the Volkswagen Up! – its a platform to spawn a family of vehicles. The ULC’s foundation can be used to roll out a set of commercial vehicles. Even the next generation Bajaj RE Auto Rickshaw three-wheeler could be bodied on the flexible ULC platform.

Renault and Nissan have shied away from questions on the future of the Bajaj-Nissan-Renault partnership. The ULC does not feature on the Renault’s list of five cars by late 2012. The initial agreement was that Bajaj will handle the design and manufacturing, and Renault/Nissan would market it.

[Source - IndiaToday.InToday.in]

Bajaj said the low-cost four-wheeler will be manufactured at the Aurangabad facility, the site once used to roll out geared scooters. The project cost for this 4-wheeler will be approximately Rs 200 crore including the plant. It has to be noted that the project cost is one-tenth what Bajaj would spend on a new vehicle project. The production lines will be designed to produce three-wheelers alongside the four-wheeler. Both these vehicles are likely to be stationed on the ULC platform.

In an interview with NDTV Profit recently, Bajaj said the ULC could be dressed up as a car. But Bajaj has no intentions of producing a car and neither will it get into the goods carrier space with the four-wheeler. It will be designed to move people over short distances. One can imagine a modern Autorickshaw mounted on four wheels at the corners with a design flavor of the Tata Magic Iris to form an imagery.

Back in December 2009, Rajiv Bajaj told IndianAutosBlog.com that his company was joining hands with Portland-based motorcycle manufacturer MotoCzysz on a “futuristic three-wheeler” project. It is yet to be understood if the next generation three wheeler and the ULC project share a relationship. MotoCzysz has expertise in battery-driven vehicles.

At the Renault key handover ceremony in Delhi last month, a top Renault official said that they had to see the ULC before taking a decision to buy it or sell it in the market. Renault is yet to see the ULC prototype. Renault added that the ball was in Bajaj’s court and they wouldn’t see the car unless an invite was served to them.

If things go well, we will see two version of the ULC – one wearing the Bajaj logo serving as public transport while the other serving as a personal transport with creature comforts sporting the Renault diamond.