Bajaj Auto, which is India’s leading exporter of two– and three-wheelers, is also witnessing strong traction in exports of its quadricycle – the Bajaj Qute – of which it is the sole manufacturer in the country. The Pune-based OEM has dispatched a total of 2,634 units in April-July 2024, which constitutes a 112% year-on-year increase (April-July 2023: 1,244 units).
Four months into FY2025, at 2,634 units, Bajaj Auto has already achieved 63% of FY2024’s total exports of 4,178 units of the Qute quadricycle.
This marks the Qute’s best export performance in the first four months of a fiscal year after April-July 2020’s 2,104 units. A close look at SIAM export numbers (see data table above) reveals that in the ongoing fiscal, July 2024 with 720 units has been the Qute’s best month. Four months into FY2025, at 2,634 units, Bajaj Auto has already achieved 63% of FY2024’s total exports of 4,178 units, and places the company well on track to achieve its best-ever fiscal sales. FY2020, with 5,185 units, was the fiscal when the Qute clocked its best export numbers to date.
The Qute, which is India’s first-ever quadricycle (a sub-group of the LCV segment), was launched in the country in FY2019 but domestic market demand has been tepid to say the least. Till end-July 2024, only 3,253 units have been sold in India compared to cumulative exports of 30,027 units since FY2016.
While sales of the Qute in India are just 3,253 units, cumulative exports have crossed the 30,000 units mark by end-July 2024.
Shipments to Egypt to accelerate Qute exports
What would have helped accelerate export demand for the Bajaj Qute is the recent move by Egypt to formally recognize quadricycles as vehicles for public transportation and also to replace the existing three-wheelers on its roads. Qute exports this fiscal commenced in Q1 with a first shipment of 500 units. The Qute is also exported to markets like Turkiye and Ghana, among others.
As is known, Bajaj Auto has a strong three-wheeler presence in Egypt, which was a major market for this product in the past. It is estimated that the country still has around 500,000 Bajaj RE three-wheelers plying on its roads. In end-2021, Egypt had banned import of three-wheelers (called tuk-tuks there) which had impacted Indian exports. In early March 2024, the Egyptian parliament approved a draft law aimed at creating a new vehicle category for quadricycles to transport people.
The government of Egypt plans to progressively replace all three-wheelers with quadricycles, and its recent move to recognise the quadricycle vehicle category is expected to give a major fillip to exports of the Bajaj Qute and could translate into a strong export business opportunity for Bajaj Auto.
A Qute gets tanked up in Turkiye (above). Turkiye, Egypt and Ghana are among the global markets where the made-in-India Bajaj Qute has a presence.
Electric Qute in the pipeline
Meanwhile on the electric vehicle front, Bajaj Auto which now has a strong presence in both two-wheelers with its Chetak e-scooter, where it is the No. 3 OEM in India, and also in electric three-wheelers with the RE E-Tec 9.0 passenger and Maxima XL Cargo E-Tec 12.0, is making moves to electrify the Qute.
Speaking in a conference call earlier this year, Rakesh Sharma, executive director, Bajaj Auto, had said: “We are investing behind the Qute platform. When the BS-IV, BS-VI transitions took place, there was such a lot of work which was there in our R&D that we deprioritize Qute only because of the volumes. But we are now looking at an upgrade, which will provide the customer with a tech condition in Qute. And we are already now got a CNG-based Qute, and we will be working on an electric Qute as well.”
All images: Bajaj Auto