Have you been in a situation where your work vehicle is also your leisure or errand vehicle? Well, if you do, and your day job involves moving light cargo, India-based startup Surge Automobile has the perfect solution: the Surge S32. At a glance, the Surge S32 looks like a regular powered cargo tricycle —only sleeker. In reality, it is more. The Surge S32 is an electric scooter and electric cargo tricycle.
It can switch between a two-wheel scooter and a three-wheel cargo vehicle in a matter of minutes. The vehicle is built on a flexible AMSEP (Advanced Modular Smart Electric Platform) that allows quick and easy conversion, anywhere, anytime. When in 3-wheel mode, the seat of the scooter is lowered and the rear wheel is tucked into the AMSEP.
At a touch of a button, and a little tuck and pull, you can detach the motorcycle within and use it to shuttle between places leaving the bulk cargo body behind. When undocked, all it takes is a press of the button to raise the seat and you are all set.
The beauty of this vehicle is it has a separate powertrain for each vehicle and boasts automatic switching according to the vehicle in use. So, no. This is not some crude contraption or a poor attempt to make a bike haul a body that is too big for its motor to handle.
The scooter is powered by a 6 kW electric motor while the AMSEP features up to a 13 kW electric motor. Clearly, neither are designed to break land speed records but they, being electric, will have oomph for hauling cargo and people.
In 3-wheel mode, an electromechanical locking system prevents accidental transformation i.e. separation of two-wheel from the AMSEP. Meanwhile, the 3-wheel vehicle boasts a heavy-duty ladder frame for heavy payload.
The Surge S32 is offered in a variety of AMSEP variants, including a passenger vehicle (PV), a low bed (LD), a box body (HD), and a flatbed (FB). Unfortunately, it does appear to allow you to buy a few AMSEPs to switch around. According to Surge, each 2-wheeler is paired with a specific 3-wheel body. The relation between the two is pretty much a lock and key relation.
In the performance department, the scooter, which is paired with a 3.87 kWh battery, offers a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph). As for the 3-wheel, the PV is powered by an 8 kW motor paired to a 9.675 kWh battery and has a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) while the rest (LD, HD, FB) is powered by a 10 kW motor with a 11.616 kWh battery. The top speed for these models also topped out at 28 mph.
I have no idea how much the base Surge S32 costs but it is definitely for sale. If you are down, please feel free to touch base with the Surge Automobiles team to learn more.
Images: Surge Automobiles.
