Indian Auto Company Bajaj to Launch World’s Most Fuel Efficient Car
India’s leading two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto Ltd., is planning to launch a small car in 2011 which it promises would be very affordable and world’s most fuel efficient car running on gasoline. Bajaj Auto has partnered with Nissan and Renault as it seeks to compete with the recently launched Tata Nano.
During an interview given to CNBC-TV18, Bajaj Auto’s Managing Director, Rajiv Bajaj, said that the project was on schedule and was not suffering from any financial constraints. He also said that the company is utilizing its experience in manufacturing two-wheelers in this project which has made the project highly cost-efficient.
Rajiv Bajaj refused to give out a specific date for the launch of the car but shared some specifics regarding the car’s mileage and carbon output.
In terms of our own focus, it is the same as before. We are not after the cheapest possible car. We are after a little car that will raise the benchmark as far as fuel economy and emission standards are concerned. I can share with you that from the very beginning we have targeted a fuel economy in excess of 30 km per litre (70.56 MPG). I think we are on our way to achieving that.
So, that represents a big change in terms of on road fuel economy. We are equally determined in terms of emissions – for example in terms of CO2 emissions, which is a big issue the world over, we should be well below 100 gram per kilometre of CO2. I think we are going to achieve that as well.
It is speculated that the price of the car would be close to that of the Tata Nano, that is, between $2500 and $3000. In comparison, the Nano has a mileage of about 24km per litre (56.7 miles per gallon) and has a carbon output of 101 grams per kilometer.
Both the cars claim to have great mileage but while the Tata Nano will most probably be running on Indian roads by the first week of July, Bajaj’s car still has about 2 years before it is unveiled to the world. And Bajaj Auto can use this opportunity to observe the and learn from Tata’s mistakes. Another advantage for Bajaj could be the price of commodities which have eased a bit now. Tata Group’s chairman Ratan Tata acknowledged the predicament his company faced while trying to fulfill his promise of a one lakh ($2500) car in the face of rising commodity prices.
Ready for European markets
More importantly both the cars are ready for the strict EU carbon emission regulations. The European Union, after long discussions, recently agreed to impose a 120 gram per kilometer of carbon emissions limit for cars from the year 2012. Ratan Tata has already announced the European version of Nano, called the Nano Europa, which will be priced at €5000. With Renault involved in the project, the Bajaj Auto car could very well enter the European market.
It is important to note the significant change in the center of automotive manufacturing around the world. Europe and United States used to be the leaders in this sector not so long ago whereas India and China were seen merely as big attractive markets. Now the roles have been reversed completely. Chinese company BYD Auto recently announced its electric sedan, E6. And while the Chinese and Indian automakers still lack the technological experience when compared to their European or American counterparts, they certainly are in a better financial condition giving them the ability to innovate and experiment.
Image: Daniel Gasienica (Creative Commons)
The price of the Tata Nano Europa has not been announced as 5000 euros. And yes, this small car from Bajaj is developed with Renault and Nissan as partners in India.