D2H Advanced Technologies, an engineering firm in Great Britain, has what it says is an electric alternative to the tuk-tuk. The trolley must make a substantial contribution to reducing emissions in India, Asia and South America.
A tuk-tuk is usually a compact tricycle that is equipped with a two-stroke engine. The trolleys are extremely popular, especially in Asian countries. Only, because of the two-stroke engine, they often leave a blue trail of smoke when they pass by. Not exactly friendly to the environment. D2H thinks it has a solution and comes with a compact electric vehicle on four wheels to replace the traditional tuk-tuk.
The cart, which by the way does not yet have a name, stands on a modular chassis and is shown with both a flat loading floor and a closed body. The chassis is made of a lightweight plastic, so that the cart puts 480 kg in the scales. The electric motor is in the front and drives the front wheels, the batteries are mounted between the rear wheels or in the middle of the chassis. According to D2H, several configurations are possible, depending of course on the range that the user wants. The new tuk-tuk should be able to last for 12 hours on one battery charge. Further specifications have not yet been released by the engineering firm.
Chance of succeeding?
The idea of ​​an electric tuk-tuk is not exactly new. Projects had already been started in 2008 to contribute to the greening of the tuk-tuk. However, to date, the traditional two-stroke is still thriving in Asian countries and South America. D2H breaks with a traditional aspect, namely that the vehicle is on four instead of three wheels. In addition, D2H is currently in the conceptual phase, as the prototype still has to be built. Since tuk-tuk drivers in most cases are not well off, the vehicle must be very competitively priced. Time will tell.