Bajaj open to lite car ride with Tatas

Co Also Working On A Concept For Showcasing At 2008 Auto Expo

THE SEARCH for a people’s small car may bring together two of the biggest local players in the Indian auto industry. Bajaj Auto is working on a “nontraditional lite car concept” for which it is open to partnering with Tata Motors which is working on a Rs 1 lakh car. Speaking to ET, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto said: “We are newcomers to this game and a traditional car is out of our league. But we are doing something different and if there are synergies with what Tata Motors is doing we would be more than open to talking to them.” ET had reported Bajaj Auto’s foray into light goods and passenger carriers in the issue dated January 29. Bajaj Auto, which is foraying into four-wheelers with a light goods carrier, is also developing a car concept to be showcased at the 2008 Auto Expo. “The concept is a car as in not a onebox passenger carrier but a two-box vehicle like the M800 or Alto,” Mr Bajaj said. “But it is very much a concept unlike the goods carrier which is for commercial production. We are trying an entirely new technology and we are not sure if it will work.” The Bajaj concept car will look and feel like a car but will boast an engine that’s as powerful as the M800 engine but as cheap as an auto rickshaw engine.

Different tech angle

Because the technology is entirely new, Bajaj is not interested in talking to any of the traditional leaders of the compact car market. “Our concept will look and feel entirely like a car but I am approaching it from a technology angle that is totally different and the established players will not be able to help us with that,” he said. But if Tata Motors is interested, “I would be open to teaming up with them... “If we are able to prove a new technology and the Tatas are interested in using that to take their project ahead, I would be open to talk to them.” “If the two companies can compliment each other in creating something as revolutionary as this, why not?” The search for a small car that meets individual mobility needs, is a global phenomenon, he said, with car makers looking at two ends of the spectrum. At one end there will be niche and pricey small cars like the Smart and at other end, affordable small cars like the ones on Indian roads. But to close the cost of ownership gap between a 100 cc motorcycle and the M800, the new range of ‘lite’ cars will have to be substantially lower priced, meet functional needs like design, performance and reliability, meet all regulatory requirements expected of cars (which are non-existing for two and three wheelers) and be profitable as well. Is Bajaj Auto working on something like that? “As far as actual development work goes, we are working on a lite goods carrier which will also meet all the abovementioned requirements,” Mr Bajaj said. “As far as a passenger version goes, we are not in the process of actually developing one but it is a project around which we are currently thinking.” But it can’t be done with traditional technology, he said. “We have some ideas and we are trying to put together a concept vehicle which will also satisfy all the criteria along with the goods carrier.”

Courtesy: EconomicTimes

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