As an American, the rickshaw is a foreign, yet attractive, concept to me.
Our city streets, thanks to years of trash urban planning and parking lot requirements, are built for cars, trucks, and SUVs. All of which have been increasing in size in recent decades and making these urban areas worse and more congested. And expanding public transit, or incentivizing motorcycle ownership, are non-starters thanks to automotive and real estate lobbyists.
Ah, the land of the free.
Taxis, and taxi-like services such as Uber and Lyft, have even made things worse. But imagine a world where those cars and services that'll get you stuck in a never-ending "self-driving" loops, aren't made up of massive four-wheeled machines, but rather rickshaws that can carry about the same number of folks, yet only take up half or three-quarters of the space as a normal car. Imagine a world where rickshaws come to the US and reduce congestion. Imagine a world where rickshaws are quiet and not powered by some blue smoke-emitting two-stroke, as is the case now. Imagine a better world.
Wonderful, isn't it? Well, Hyundai and India's TVS have teamed up to produce such a concept and it has me yearning for Americans, and the rest of the urbanized world, to adopt these machines and make large cities less awful to get around.
The concept debuted at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo and was designed to explore "last-mile" mobility or the sort of urban around-town transportation that folks would use either traditional rickshaws in South East Asia or taxis in the West. But, whereas those other services use traditional gas engines which continue to pollute the air we breathe—see urban areas' air quality indexes for proof of such emissions—this concept uses an electric drivetrain built by Hyundai to curtail those pollutants.
As for specs, they're almost non-existent as these are still very much design concepts. All either Hyundai and TVS have to say on the EV rickshaws is that they're fully electric and are pretty adaptable, as the ride height can be raised in the event of flooded streets, the interior can be made to accommodate a wheelchair, and the tires are larger than normal to improve ride quality over uneven terrain and pot-holed streets.
The two brands have stated their intent on making this machine too, as Hyundai would design and engineer the rickshaw, while TVS would manufacture and distribute them throughout the world.
"Hyundai Motor is a customer-centric brand, and caring for people in India is our first mission. This commitment has driven us to explore designing micro-mobility solutions tailored to India's unique environment, reimagining the iconic three-wheeler to enhance mobility experiences through thoughtful design,” stated SangYup Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design.
TVS' Sharad Mishra, President, Group Strategy, stated, "By combining Hyundai Motor’s global expertise with our deep understanding of mobility solutions, we aim to develop next-generation micro-mobility solutions that redefine last-mile connectivity. This potential collaboration reflects our commitment to innovation and sustainability. With a shared vision, we are confident that this partnership under discussion will deliver impactful solutions that set new standards in design, engineering, technology, and quality."
But based on the concept, and its production-ready-looking design, I'd say there's more than a good chance we start seeing these built in India real soon. Will they replace the gas-powered rickshaw in the near future? Well, it'd require a lot more infrastructure investment, as well as energy generation, but based on how ubiquitous rickshaws are in that part of the world, I could very well see it occurring.
As for the rest of the world, not likely. It's unfortunate, but with certain groups so hell-bent on making cities worse, unwalkable, and requiring cars for literally everything, small rickshaws are unlikely to enter into those spaces. Even though they'd literally be better for everyone.
Well, everyone outside of Chicago and New York during winter...
