[anurag.somani]

I did rather travel on a pulsar 200 CC than RE60 200 CC
bajaj has lots all its sense of aesthetics with this launch!

[boohooper]

Originally Posted by Pardus

The highlighted portion looks like a Hand Brake from the existing Auto. Couldn't Bajaj made a better looking one ?

hmmm.. Could be the Handbrake! and what is that other lever next to it? that red oval highlighter is in the way. They have the Spare wheel (accessible from the front - i think) cover in front of the passenger. I guess the spare Wheel doubles as part of the Safety Crash structure of the car!

[rajeev k]

Bajaj should shed the RE name for its four wheelers whether it is car or quadricycle or an auto wjth metal top body, to come out of the auto-rickshaw tag. Because RE became synonymous with auto-rickshaws these days. RE as an acronym for Rear Engine is a No No today as all autos have their engines at the rear.

[RadiantKarma]

Mods, please modify the thread title to reflect that the product is rolled out for Auto-rickshaw market. Else, too many uniformed opinions are being darted around. Here is what the product is about...

Bajaj Rolls Out 4-Wheeler ‘Auto’
World’s largest three-wheeler manufacturer unveils four-wheeler intra-city passenger vehicle RE 60
Auto major to target over 5m 3-wheeler users in the country
KETAN THAKKAR NEW DELHI

The world’s largest threewheeler maker Bajaj Auto has unveiled its first fourwheeler, the RE60, a fourseater intra-city passenger vehicle. Fitted with a 200 cc petrol engine, RE60 is not a small car competing against the Tata Nano, but an urban passenger vehicle meant to compete with three-wheelers, Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj said.
“As a marketing position, we are an anti-car company. Our core customers will be the ones who are the user of three wheelers,” he said.
The vehicle—which Bajaj Auto had announced last year after scrapping its ultra low-cost car project—will hit the road in 4-6 months. Bajaj Auto redefined urban public transport in the country with its three wheelers in the early 1960s. It now wants its four wheelers to replace many of the more than five million three wheelers in the urban India landscape. “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.
Designed in-house in accordance with intra-city duty cycles and safety requirements, RE60 will be sold through its network of three-wheeler dealerships.

Source:Article Window

Also, noteworthy is the statement of Mr. Bajaj

As a marketing position, we are an anti-car company

Here is something about international ambition (from the same article)

Bajaj sees huge potential for exporting RE60 to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Africa and Latin America where affordability levels are low.
In fact, the company may first start selling RE60 in Sri Lanka. Bajaj Auto exports 10,000 three wheelers in a month to Sri Lanka and 90% of them are used for personal purpose, Bajaj said. “That in itself indicates the potential in Sri Lanka alone.”
Bajaj Auto has invited all its international distributors and government representatives of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Columbia to see RE60 at the Auto Expo and give their feedback.

Here is a practical concern from the above article about feasibility of such deployment

Experts said RE60 might run into some regulatory hurdles. “There is a big gray area as to how this vehicle will be defined in India,” an analyst at a domestic broking house said.
Abdul Majeed, automotive practice partner at Price Waterhouse, said Bajaj Auto will have to work along with regulatory authorities to get a suitable solution. “It is a new product, new segment… regulators should be able to clear it if there are no concerns,” he said.

Hope Mr. Bajaj has thought about this.

On first instance, the vehicle, as a replacement of Autos, appears to be a great idea both from safety and comfort point of view. At the same time, here is an initial counter-view from Delhi Auto-drivers

In New Delhi, several rickshaw drivers expressed ambivalence about the RE60 on Tuesday afternoon, saying they did not see much benefit in upgrading to four wheels.

Suran Singh, 40, who has been driving a rickshaw for 26 years, said doors and a hard top would help keep out the cold during the winter, but would make him too hot in the scorching New Delhi summers.

“This is better to drive in hot weather because it’s cloth,” he said, pointing to the top of his green and yellow rickshaw. “In Delhi, it gets hot in the summer, and we’ll be sweating it out in a car.”

Source: Introducing Bajaj Auto's Brand New...Car? - NYTimes.com

These views could be from sense of insecurity / threat perception to existing Autos. Nevertheless, for this vehicle to be successful, hope Bajaj has done some home-work to handle the heat of this hot country. Apart from this, the much-being-maligned-design appears quite practical and would enable the vehicle to carry good amount of luggage at the back. Remember, Nano has no boot even to think of venturing into this segment.

[indianvirus]

Bajaj had to do it, no matter how odd it looks. With tata knocking at rickshaw market with iris, bajaj had to reply in case iris catches popularity. I have not seen these both in flash but it seems this has better space and storage than iris. and it is way way way better than gio.

I feel the idea of 4 wheeled rickshaw is great. At least it will be safe and will not turn turtle so easily. Also it would be better during winter and monsoon. Summers can be tackled by appropriate insulation to roof. And hopefully with this bigger rickshaw, auto drivers won't be able to drive like nuts in traffic.

I guess many team members were misled by news chanels, which said, it will entice private buyers too, and hence all the opinions.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by DevilsCry

Attachment 863918
Some minor things I notice from the pics-
2. Right one looks like fare-meter like in autos though left one also looks like some kind of meter.
3. Looks like a choke to me from era of carburetors. Do autos today still use carburetors?
4. I can't find controls to open doors and windows except for that thing.
5. Using gear in traffic is going to be tiring due to repeated lifting of hands.
6. This is the only vehicle I have seen with a glovebox on both sides.

Initially when I saw the name I thought it was Rear engined and 60 cc. Didn't realize till I read that it was the emission content of the auto. Oops! Car!

2. This is what makes me feel when I see those digital meters. Bajaj is making it an Auto and selling it with four wheels.

3. I guess autos still have carburetors.

4. Use the windows or roll down the window and open the door from outside.

6. Two glove boxes that too with locks. I mean what is Bajaj thinking about the RE60? Or what is thinking about "The Customer?" - Whom has been framed in mind and designed this piece of 8th wonder?

[KameshR]

Little did Mr Suran Singh know that Bajaj has already thought about his problem and came out with yet another path breaking feature.

If I have observed right, the Green colored RE60 looks like the basic variant without windows and the Yellow colored one being a premium version would sport CLIP/SLIDING type windows (not the cranking type).

Notice the little wedge at the bottom and sides.



They could have at least provided fabric curtains in the basic variant and I would not be surprised if yet another stripped down variant with fabric top and sides is in the making.

[SDP]

Very good move by Bajaj to call it as a '4-wheeler' and not a car.
If this vehicle would have been positioned as a car, it would have seen fate similar to the Nano. Now in the commercial section, it at least has a chance to replace the autos and make our cities look slightly less taxing on our eyes.

PS: The design looks like someone from Jr KG drew it.

[RadiantKarma]

Originally Posted by KameshR

...I would not be surprised if yet another stripped down variant with fabric top and sides is in the making.

Very likely indeed! And it will take the heat out of the objection being raised!

[ghodlur]

Bajaj's attempt at replacing the ricks with 4 wheel car is not going to be a game changer since Bajaj has come out with only the petrol version whereas the state govts drive to convert all the exisiting ricks to CNG was already in place. Also in the current scenario of petrol prices sky rocketing where will Bajaj find any takers unless govt makes it mandatory for the 4 wheeler to be used as rickshaw replacment.

As far as the design is considered the existing rickshaw looks better than the RE60.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Bajaj's attempt at replacing the ricks with 4 wheel car is not going to be a game changer

Who want to kill the goose that lay golden eggs. Ricks are Bajaj's bread and butter, and they dont want to kill a profitable business. If some of these competing product (Iris, Geo) start to take market share, then Bajaj dont have a choice, but to bring a 4 wheeler, but that stage has not reached yet.

[Gany]

This vehicle as far as I know is creating a new segment which is a 4 wheeled transport vehicle, thus creating an upgrade from auto - safer, efficient & modern! Calling this as a car has been a misnomer created by the mass & media!

I appreciate what indian manufacturers are doing...they are innovating for the local market needs! Be it Nano or RE, they make others to sit up & think. Why else a mercedes come up with MEA platform, why Toyota brought Etios,...because they find the market needs product at optimum cost!

[jawanak]

It is not very good looking but then there are lot of cars that are not good looking and still asking for a lot more and a bone. The first thing that came to my mind seeing a proud Rahul Bajaj standing next to the car is Jeremy Clarkson and the episode in which he drove a PEEP P50 inside the BBC building. This is very small.

The only difference between this and pulsar 200 is that this one gives a better chance of survival than a P200 from accidents, rain etc.

A questions pops to my mind. What is Bajaj trying to achive here. Is it going to replace the tuk tuk, the assebly lines and distribution channel. Like the old PAL FIAT, the current set of tuk tuk will be there on the road but the new ones will be this. Or this will reside alongside the current products range. My guess is, this will exist along with the current tuk-tuk and in that case this will notbe selling much unless it proves itself in real world.

Has bajaj launched any bikes in the autoexpo or is it just this monster?

[Joe-Ker]

Any info about the power & torque figures?

I am not able to find any. I guess a pulsar 200 engine detuned for higher torque should have more performance than the current autos in cities. And it will be more refined too.

But this, unlike nano, is no car.I remember that the only complaint i heard about the nano was 'it sounds like an auto'. Now i hope the nano will get the attention that it deserved and was denied (mostly because it was made by Tata).

[volkman10]

Bajaj could launch the RE60 in Sri Lanka before a local launch!

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."

Bajaj RE60 could be exported to Sri Lanka before launch