Bike RPM

Bajaj had announced that it will introduce its ultra cheap car in the Indian market, soon after the Nano was launched. The car is coded as ULC and a feasibility study is underway to study the economic and technical feasibility of such a project in India.

”The techno-economic feasibility for the passenger 4-wheeler will be evaluated by Bajaj-Renault-Nissan for a final decision, leading to firming up of the co-operation parameters among partners and a suitable JV agreement,” according to the company.

Bajaj will build this car in association with Nissan and Renault in India. The USP for selling this car will be its fuel economy as Bajaj promised that this car will deliver the best mileage, exceeding any other small car in the country and will be the most fuel efficient car in India. It stated the emphasis will be on the fuel economy and not the car’s price. The car will be built at Bajaj’s Chakan plant near Pune with an initial capacity of producing 250,000 units annually.

Bajaj is also revamping the car’s design which was originally designed by Renault. The new design will take into consideration aerodynamic aspect and other features that will enable car to deliver better mileage.

[Via: cartradeindia]

“The fuel economy norms in India are very lacking nature and there has been no movement on the issue,” says Anumita Roychowdhury, Associate Director, Center for Science and Environment (CSE). The CSE has urged the government to enforce stricter rules on fuel economy standards in India. There is an Energy Conservation Act in India and the Parliament office has also issued a directive to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency to develop stricter fuel economy standards but the same has not been implemented effectively in India.

“The car industry has got away with self-labelling, without meeting any official standards,” reiterated Roychowdhary. There have been ongoing discussions since past three year but no concrete steps have been taken so far. She also stated that the ‘Indian small car’ market is gradually shifting to mid to large cars which account for 36 percent sales now. This mean the fuel efficiency will still be lower. Moreover, carbon-di-oxide emission from cars accounts for more than half of all CO2 emitted by vehicles. She said the failure to develop fuel economy standards is out of line with the aspiration of developing India as a car manufacturing hub.

[Via: cartrdaeindia]