Design and Development of Low-Cost Electric Microcar for Urban Commute

Global warming, pollution, dependence on foreign oil resources and rising petroleum prices are major issues the nations facing today. Increasing density of IC engine powered vehicles, urban air pollution, traffic congestion and wastage of valuable land for parking have negative impact economically, ecologically and politically. Moreover, an increasing preference for personal mobility, owing to the pandemic and social distancing norms has witnessed notable growth in automobile sales. Hence, a strategy to replace conventional vehicles is urgently required by electric vehicles, which is one of the most promising alternative technologies. Governments also recognized the value of electric mobility in building a cleaner, smarter and more sustainable future cities. Adoption of low-cost, light weight and low power electric vehicles designed for the city environment can considerably reduce the impact of personal mobility not only by reducing energy consumption but also by minimizing the use of parking and driving space in comparison with conventional vehicles. This paper proposes and develops an environmentally friendly low-cost electric microcar that maneuvers easily in city heavy traffic with zero emissions and benefits the high energy efficiency, energy security and noise pollution reduction. An analytical modeling is carried out for sizing of powertrain elements. CAD modeling of chassis frame using solid works followed by analysis using ANSYS is also performed. A double seater low-cost electric microcar with comprehensible mechanism has demonstrated a range of 75 km on full charging. A simple fuel and emission analysis has observed that around 851.66 liters of petroleum fuel saving and corresponding 2.077 tonnes of carbon dioxide reduction annually with this prototype.