I was interested in one when it was launched as a non-commercial road car to replace my motorcycle. But the size was not attractive to me, it will sure do good as a taxi.
The biggest attraction for rickshaw / taxi drivers / owners is that this car is designed by a genius to be literally maintenance free. Bike owners know the cost of maintaining a bike engine, i.e. oil change every 700 KM, fuel filter and one plug every once in a year or even longer than that.
Then on the chassis:
- No rolling windows, so no stuck windows all taxi's have windows rolled down all the time anyways.
steering is rotating ball and not rack and pinion, rotating ball is not very responsive but ZERO maintenance.
Nascar style gear, i.e. up or down, one less part that can go wrong
-Rear wheel drive, 'nuff said.
And at the same time there is innovation, like a warning sign on the dash which blinks when a cell phone gets an incoming call, I do not know its reliability but good for those sensible drivers who want to stop anywhere safe to recieve or make a phone call.
In my opinion they should come up with a two seater like SMART (side by side), or CLEAR (one front, one rear). And this would sell like hot cakes among commuters who want the safety of a car in a slim package in size and to the pocket.
The petrol version was selling for 150k + 22.5k taxes. so a smaller version selling for 100k inclusice of taxes can make its cut into the 125cc bike market.