Bajaj RE60 Small Car Launched

Bajaj RE60 is the first car from the stable of Bajaj Auto in four wheeler passenger vehicle segment, positioned to replace three wheelers on the streets of Indian cities. RE means rear engine, which is Bajaj’s flagship brand in three wheelers.

The largest maker of three wheelers has unveiled the car before the much awaited Delhi Auto Expo 2012 taking everyone by surprise. The first four-wheeler from Bajaj, the RE60 is a four-seater intra-city passenger vehicle. The Bajaj RE60 comes with a 200 cc petrol engine. The RE60 is not a small car competing against the Tata Nano, but an urban passenger vehicle meant to compete with three-wheelers.

RE60 will be built at Bajaj's three-wheeler plant in Aurangabad with initial capacity of 200 units a day. The firm plans CNG and the LPG variants soon."The concept is not an incremental improvement but a dramatic one just like Pulsar replaced Chetak," Bajaj said. "Scooters were the roots of our success in the last century.Motorcycles defined our success in this century," he said, adding that the company expects such a change in city transport with the RE60.

The car unveiled on Tuesday reaches the top speed of 70km/ hour, gives 35km/litre, weighs just 400kg, has a meter installed on the dashboard and boasts of foldable windows. Experts expect it to be priced in the range of Rs2 lakh, compared with the Rs1.35 lakh for an auto rickshaw.“We are not trying to make a car but a four wheeler meant to ferry people in cities,” said Rajiv Bajaj, managing director, BAL. “It is not an incremental but dramatic improvement over a three wheeler. There are over 5 million Bajaj three wheelers in the country today. That’s the market we are aiming for.”

Whatever said and done the battle for small cars has surely reached the melting point with the launch of the Bajaj RE60. If the car really stands up to the promised figures it says, then the Indian auto market is all set for a major over haul. Let’s just hope the company has not taken the people for granted like the Nano. The Bajaj RE60 if successful could surely pinch the sales of the Hyundai Eon, Tata Nano and the upcoming Maruti Cervo.