Bajaj Auto has revealed its RE60, the production version of the Ultra Low Cost vehicle project. Variants for Renault and Nissan are expected to follow.
The RE60 is the first four-wheeled model from the world’s fourth largest two- and three-wheeler manufacturer.
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The Pune-based firm has been working on the RE60 under the Ultra Low Cost vehicle working title for some years. It showed its first prototype at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2008.
There is some confusion over the role of the Renault-Nissan Alliance in the ULC joint venture, the firms having issued apparently contrary statements over the project’s progress during the last 24 months.
For now, the RE60 is the sole production model to emerge from ULC. As he revealed his firm’s new model, managing director Ravi Bajaj (pronounced b’JARJ) claimed that Renault and Nissan will make a decision on their intended participation in the ULC project in the coming days.
“At no point we intended to be contract manufacturers for Renault-Nissan… With small or big modification, we can supply to Renault-Nissan if they wish,” Bajaj is quoted as stating by India’s Business Today.
“They have not seen the product… if Renault-Nissan were to walk away, that is also fine with us,” he reportedly added.
The RE60 was unveiled at a special event on 2 January but specifications of the model will not be fully revealed until the first press day of the New Delhi show on 5 January. For now, it is only known that the little vehicle, which is due for launch in India by mid-year, will be rear-engined and powered by a 200cc engine.
Much concerning the ULC project remains to be cleared up. For example, Ravi Bajaj is reported as citing Aurangabad as the location for RE60 build, yet until now, all information has pointed towards a new plant at Chakan with an annual capacity of 400,000 units (for Bajaj, Nissan and Renault).
In March 2009, reports emerged from India that the project was running behind schedule, due, it was said, to a slowing of funds from Renault. Then, in September 2009, Rajiv Bajaj was interviewed by the Indian media and revealed that “branding issues” were delaying the project.
The situation over delays then appeared to be settled with a statement from Carlos Ghosn in November 2009 that also revealed the launch date had been put back to 2012. The design, manufacturing and sourcing for the vehicle were being undertaken by Bajaj, while Renault-Nissan would look after marketing in India and overseas, Carlos Ghosn told reporters at a media conference in New Delhi.
In July 2010, Rajiv Bajaj appeared to tell the Indian media that his firm would not launch its own model but instead supply Renault with a vehicle. He seems to have been misquoted. Then in May 2011, Mr Bajaj revealed plans for a light commercial vehicle to be based upon the ULC platform. The latter is due for launch in India in mid-2012.
Author: Glenn Brooks
