The Tuk-Tuk three-wheeled utility vehicle
is an immensely popular vehicle in India and southeast Asia. It sells by the
millions each year so developing a credible successor would be a very lucrative
business. UK-based engineering company D2H wants to do just that, namely launch
an environmentally-compatible alternative to the aged Tuk-Tuk. D2H is leading a
consortium to design an innovative, low-cost electric vehicle chassis that has
the potential to replace the Tuk-Tuk.
The design meets the L7E Heavy Quadricycle
EU classification, which means it’s currently exempt from crash test
assessment. Still, D2H says the LCEV chassis has been designed to raise the bar
for safety performance in its price segment.
In its present form, the electric utility
vehicle uses proprietary suspension, brakes and steering from a current
production chassis, with front-wheel drive from a front-mounted motor and
battery packs stored in between the rear wheels. The design weight is 480 kg, excluding the batteries.
Consortium partner Coventive Composites
has developed a jute-based natural fiber thermoplastic polymer for the panels
fitted to the predominantly bonded chassis. The material has been chosen
because jute is readily available in the target markets while also being
lightweight and relatively strong.
Furthermore, fiber reinforced
thermoplastics have reduced manufacturing cycle times and energy requirements.
They also allow high levels of detail to be molded in and typically require less
post processing. The idea is for the chassis to be built locally to the market
it is intended for, enabling the LCEV to compete directly with Tuk-Tuk.
Currently, D2H plans to move to the prototype and testing stage with the help
of further partners. In addition to D2H and Coventive Composites, the
consortium also includes Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG). The project has
secured funding assistance from Innovate UK’s IDP15 scheme.
