Bajaj Philippines was supposed to have the local debut of the Bajaj Qute Quadricycle during the last Land Transportation Office (LTO) Motor Show, but the vehicle’s classification was still being worked out.

Recently, Bajaj Philippines assistant vice president for marketing Ryan Jude Camus shared with AutoFun Philippines that the classification for the Qute has already been finalized by the LTO.

However, the Qute was given the same road restrictions as other three-wheelers, limiting its access to secondary and barangay roads only.

What's a Qute?

The Bajaj Qute is propelled by the same 236.2 cc engine found on the Bajaj Maxima Z, except that it offers the additional stability of a four-wheeler.

Camus attests that the Bajaj Qute can easily run at 80 km/h, so it can definitely keep up with traffic flow on major thoroughfares. However, the LTO cites the Qute’s relatively modest displacement as justification to deny it access to main roads and national highways.

Since road access for vehicles with internal combustion engines is mainly based on displacement (and there’s no telling when the LTO will ever revise such a regulation), Bajaj Philippines is considering of bringing in the Qute’s electric vehicle (EV) version instead.

Going all-electric?

The Bajaj Qcar EV is a doppelganger of the Qute, except it has an electric motor.

Since EV road access is based on speed, weight and capacity, Bajaj Philippines might be able to register the Qcar under Category M like other electric cars.

Otherwise, it will just fall under the L6 and L7 (e-quad) categories and they’re back to square one. The government is still fine-tuning the regulations on EVs, so we’ll see.

Do you think the Bajaj Qute should have access to main roads and if so, you buy one yourself?

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