Social Impact on Hybrid and Retrofitted Three-Wheelers

Abstract

To boost electric vehicles on Indian roads government brought up a policy that can eliminate personal vehicles in the upcoming decades. With an increase in shared mobility such as metros, monorails, and BRT systems, last-mile connectivity has already acquired the importance of never before. Bicycles and electric three-wheelers can fit this sector. Electrically operated three-wheelers will also gain importance in last-mile goods delivery. Similarly, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) based three-wheelers will pass through a phase of retrofitting and use of hybrid energy sources to fulfill economic and technological needs. It is very important to study retrofitting and hybrid three-wheelers in detail to understand how they can fill the gap of transition from ICE based system to a fully electrically operated model. These vehicles will have a social impact on consumers as they are cost-effective vehicles. Innovative, swapping of battery and fuel tank is proposed to address some of the needs in this transition. This paper presents techno-commercial aspects of retrofitted three-wheelers and how to bring an economically viable hybrid version of three-wheelers.