Bajaj Auto launches low cost car RE 60, promises 40 km per litre

Bajaj Auto unveiled India's latest ultra-low-cost car on Tuesday, a 200cc four-seater that looks set to compete with the Tata Nano for the title of the world's cheapest auto.

The group gave no price for the low-emission vehicle which will have a top speed of 70 kilometres an hour
(43 miles an hour), but the build quality indicated it was pitched firmly at the bottom of the market.

"At Bajaj Auto, we believe the people of the planet deserve much better, much faster," Bajaj said of the car, which will be launched some time this year.

The petrol engine will do 35 kilometres per litre (83 miles per US gallon) in normal driving conditions and emits just 60 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre, the company said. It weighs just 400 kilograms (880 pounds).

Bajaj said that emissions were "typically half of what the small cars currently emit in our market."

India has become a centre of low-cost innovation exemplified by the Tata Nano, which was launched to great fanfare in 2009 as a means for poor families to get their hands on their first car.

A no-frills model costs as little as Rs 140,880 ($2,770).