Japanese startup Terra Motors has officially shown its three-wheeled electric tricycle prototype in Tokyo. It is designed to be affordable for emerging markets in large quantities.
The Philippines has placed an order for the vehicles with the intention to replace 100,000 gas-powered tuk-tuks with more efficient, cost-effective electric vehicles. These will reduce pollution and be cheaper to operate.
The blue and white "e-tricycle" is powered by a lithium-ion battery and can carry six people including the driver. 6 hours of charge allows 50km of driving. The three-wheeled electric tricycles will cost around $6,300 and Terra Motors hopes to expand its business to the broader Asian market.
Terra's investors include from Kenji Yamamoto who is a former Apple Japan CEO along with Google Japan, SONY and Compaq Japan.
According to Tetsuya Ohashi from Terra Motors Corporation, EVs tends to be thought as a means for mobility in developed countries, but this is the opposite.
Source and top image: Terra Motors
For more read: Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles 2012-2022