Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Bajaj Auto on Wednesday said that its quadricycle - Qute - is on par or ahead of most other such vehicles which have been approved for sale in Europe.
The company's managing director, Rajiv Bajaj, disclosed this in reply to concerns raised by a section of consumer organisations.
Recently, concerns were raised on the safety ranking of Qute by a section of consumer organisations in a letter addressed to Bajaj.
The company's quadricycle had received a one-star star safety rating out of five during crash tests conducted by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).
"May I point out that the same report also puts Qute on par or ahead of almost all quadricycles currently approved for European sales? Trust you agree," Bajaj wrote in a letter post the concerns raised by various consumer forums.
On the aspect of the company's quadricycle being mistaken for a small car, Bajaj said:
"Qute is almost half the size and weight of a typical small car, is speed restricted to 70 km per hour, again about half of what a typical small car is capable of, and its 13 bhp engine is meeker than that of a 150 cc motorcycle."
"I would thus like to believe that given these sharp and significant contrasts the people of this country are wise enough to tell the difference between a Qute and a typical small car."
Bajaj added that the company is trying to provide a safer urban transport solution through the Qute.
