Bajaj Auto’s Qute, the company’s first endeavour in the quadricycle market secured a one-star rating in the Euro NCAP crash test.
According to the tests, Qute scored 4 out of 16 for frontal crash and 6 out of 16 for side crash. The tests are benchmarked with results of Toyota iQ 'microcar'. Other quadricycles which were also tested were Aixam Crossover GTR, Chatenet CH30 and Microcar M.GO Family.
Global NCAP said: “Safety equipment is sparsely fitted to these vehicles and the results show little improvement since the last tests performed in 2014. Their performance in Euro NCAP's tests is far below a similarly-sized passenger car.”
According to Dr Michiel van Ratingen, secretary-general, Euro NCAP, quadricycles are not subject to the same legislation as passenger cars. These vehicles look like small city cars and are likely to compete for sales in the same category, he adds. But their safety parameters are far below a similarly-sized passenger car which can be bought second-hand more cheaply.
The report said that the Qute’s structure was judged to be unstable in the frontal test as many spot welds had released and deformation of the structure indicated that it could not have withstood a higher degree of loading. In the side impact, the door on the struck side became detached from the A-pillar as a result of the door structure detaching from the hinges. The absence of airbag too increased the changes of serious or fatal injuries.
“It is disappointing to see that quadricycles are still lacking basic safety features that are common in small cars,” he added. “By not challenging the manufacturers to do more, legislators continue to give a false impression to consumers that these vehicles are fit for purpose.”
Bajaj Qute was launched for international markets in September 2015 and is being exported to 16 countries. In India, however, it is yet to be launched as there is no proper regulatory framework set up for quadricycles.
Source : BS Motoring
