One of the most iconic vehicles of India’s dazzlingly chaotic roadways has to be the ubiquitous three-wheeled autorickshaw. These are called tuk-tuks in some other parts of the world, but when I was in India, I almost always heard them called autorickshaws. These three-wheeled scooter-derived little vehicles have been doing taxi and delivery duty all over India for decades, not because they’re the safest or most comfortable or cleanest, but because they’re so well adapted to all of the rigorous and peculiar demands of the environment and job: they’re rugged, nimble, small enough to navigate narrow, crowded streets but big enough to hold passengers and cargo, and, perhaps most importantly, dirt cheap.
They’ve also stayed the same for decades, really, though recently there are electric-powered ones in addition to the gasoline, diesel, CNG and LPG-powered ones. Just a bit ago, a possible future of autorickshaws was teased when Hyundai and Indian cycle/autorickshaw maker TVS showed some interesting concept autorickshaws at the 2025 Bharat Mobility Global Expo.
The job demands of an autorickshaw are no joke; these things seem to be driven flat-out, non-stop, while overloaded and over rough terrain and through some of the most mad traffic the human mind is capable of imagining. I know this is true because back in 2013 I paid an autorickshaw taxi driver 500 rupees to let me try to drive his green-and-yellow little machine through Delhi traffic.
That experience was genuinely bonkers, and made me respect the autorickshaw machine and driver considerably. How those drivers can make it through a day with dry pants will remain a mystery to me.
What Hyundai and TVS have come up with are a pair of concept vehicles, called the E3W and E4W, referring to the number of wheels involved. The three wheeled version is the most likely to replace current autorickshaws, though the four-wheeled variant is being considered as a possible competitor to European quadracycle-class vehicles like the new electric Citroën Ami, or perhaps competing in the Indian market with quadracycles like the Bajaj Qute.
One nice lighting detail is visible if you look on the side of the vehicle, on the rear of the headlamp “pod”; there’s an indicator repeater there that can be seen from oblique side angles, something very useful in the extremely-dense traffic these would exist in.
The E3W keeps the general traditional autorickshaw plan and form, but with some pretty significant changes that go beyond the sci-fi sort of look.
The wheelbase is a good bit longer, which allows for a more steeply-raked windshield, which pushes the driver rearward from the front wheel and increases safety a bit. It also allows for a larger passenger/cargo compartment at the rear, including allowing for wheelchair access if the rear bench is folded, as you can see above.
The basic platform is being considered for a lot of possible configurations and jobs for what is often called “last mile” delivery or passenger service, though I feel that’s sort of a misnomer.
In practice, I think autorickshaws tend to get used for a lot more than just “last mile” use, but those sorts of short trips are certainly a large part of the jobs of these noisy little beasts. I suppose these new EV concepts would be a lot less noisy, at least.
Also, in that Hyundai rendering above, please note the racing variant at 12:00, with the huge-ass wing. Hot damn.
An interesting feature of these concepts is that they have an adjustable ride height, allowing them to ford monsoon-flooded roadways with more ease:
The interiors look a bit nicer than the generally pretty austere painted-metal-and-vinyl interiors of most autorickshaws:
The concept here includes drink holders, USB plugs, a fan, and what looks like a… napkin dispenser? Huh.
Hyundai hasn’t released a lot of details about the specs on these concepts, other than they’re electric. I’m also not sure if that display on the front between the headlights can spell out anything other than NAMASTE, but it looks like it could. The E3W could be built by TVS using Hyundai’s licensed design, and it seems like that could actually happen.
The basic autorickshaw design has proven so entrenched and almost immutable that I think any radical change will find a lot of resistance. But who knows! These designs are clever and respectful to their sources of inspiration, so perhaps they’ll actually come to be. I’m just happy to see these three-wheeled brutes are still part of the future of Indian transportation.
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RoboTukTuk. This is what we need. Bursting into flames like a mobile Webber grill!
From what I can ascertain over decades of car knowledge is 3 wheeled vehicles allow the driver to hit far more potholes. These vehicles are the original idea for the Uber. They are hilarious in the aspect that they are a good idea unless you eschew safety.
Or perhaps a receipt printer?
As I keep saying, the real use case for EVs is shitbox commuters, minivans, and delivery vehicles – and US/Japanese companies simply refuse to deliver. China will solve that problem for us.
I’m curious how current tuk-tuk/autorickshaw drivers will respond to the styling. Older designs tend to fit in with their surroundings better. Maybe sticking out like a sore thumb would be useful in the taxi business for catching customer attention.
Or shine a beacon on who to rob.
Those aren’t napkins, that’s Tuck Tucks® Medicated Hemorrhoid Wipe dispenser.
Ya gonna need it, too.
Are the wheelchair accessible tuktuks designed for handicapped tuktuks drivers?
The monsoon flooding picture is optimistic in terms of how deep floodwaters can get. If the battery is in the floorpan, it has to be capable of being completely submerged. I’ve seen streets in Malaysia go from dry to over a foot deep in minutes during a monsoon.
This is why you wanted to bid on the Berkeley, isn’t it?
Screw that I want the story behind this
Seems very angular and pointy.
Like an old Volvo.
But more severe.
Why can’t we make things smooth, round and friendly anymore?
Looks like they prioritized minimum tooling.
Does it take less tooling to make things square and sharp than it does to make things rounded?
Or is it just a Thai/Korean/IncelCamino mashup?
It looks like any metal shop with a brake could fab. most of it. The shallow transition to oval cutout stamped on a low tonnage press.
Wait til you see the low poly CyberRickshaw.
“Preem rickshaw, choom! Now let’s delta, I got the eddies.”
(proceeds to drive away at 15mph)
Friendly is forbidden these days.
I had several tuk-tuk rides in Thailand in 1985. I asked someone why they were called tuk-tuks and they told me it was because of the exhaust note from their (then at least) two-stroke engines.
Maybe these guys could use one of Dodge’s Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust systems to recreate the sound.
They may have to go lower budget (perhaps by putting a playing card in one of the wheels).
Or an endless loop of the great leader stutter reciting his greatest hits.