Bajaj RE60 First Look

The company that introduced it on Tuesday, Bajaj Auto, best known for making motorcycles and motorized three-wheeled rickshaws, does not even call its newest product, the RE60, a car. Bajaj (no relation to the reporter) prefers the generic term four wheeler.

Executives say they have no plans to market it to average consumers. Instead, they are aiming for drivers of rickshaws, which are powered by motorcycle engines and operate as short-distance taxis in India. The RE60 offers features not found on current rickshaw models, including seat belts, doors and a hard top. It will have windows, although ones that fold out rather than roll down.

The company did not say how much the RE60 would cost when it hit showrooms this year. But a rickshaw costs about 120,000 rupees, or $2,200, and one auto analyst estimated that the RE60 would be priced 25 percent higher than that, or about $2,750.

But the RE60 was expected to be more than a souped-up rickshaw. It was widely anticipated as Bajaj's answer to the Tata Nano. The Nano, which its maker Tata Motors introduced in 2009, was billed as a people's car that would bring mobility to India's masses. It sells for a list price of about $2,600.