The new $3,645 (£2,300) Multix should perhaps have been called the 'MulTrix' – given the multiple capabilities claimed for it by manufacturer Eicher.

The Indian company has developed the Multix primarily as a low-cost, small diesel powered pick-up truck that also doubles as mini power station.

While the pick-up truck functionality may well appeal to India’s many small businesses, it will also appeal to those whose access to electricity is sporadic or non-existent. The Multix can be converted into a generator that can provide up to 10 hours of electricity on a full tank of 12 litres.

Around 300 million Indians do not have access to reliable power, so the Multix could be a real winner – powering homes at night that might otherwise have to rely on such technologies as solar lanterns, or have no power at all.

While the current Indian government says it intends to bring electricity to every village in India by 2022, there is doubt that the nation's at-capacity energy grid can cope with such grand plans.

As well as lighting homes, the Multix can also be used to power offices, or even run a water pump or a drilling machine.

Siddhartha Lal, Eicher’s chief executive, said: “We have found this enormous unmet need, which is that so many people in India have terrible access to power.

“So this provides a back-up for your business, or even if your family is watching a Bollywood movie, which is the kind of electric car India needs.”

It may not be the most ecologically sound way of producing electricity, but for many Indians, it might improve life a great deal.

Eicher is perhaps best known for buying British motorcycle firm Royal Enfield – and turning it into a hugely profitable concern.