The Surge 32 by Hero MotoCorp will enter series production within a year. This unique vehicle, which combines a two-wheeler and a three-wheeler, can now be registered under a newly created L2/L5 category. Sources say the company sees a modest potential of 10,000 units per annum, and the model may be ready for a market launch by mid-2025.
Speaking on the sidelines of ECIMA 2024, Dr Pawan Munjal, executive chairman and whole-time director of Hero MotoCorp, said, “For the first time ever, around the globe and in India, we now have the government’s OK to register these vehicles to take them on the road. Both will have separate registration plates. But once the scooter goes into the three-wheeler, then it becomes one united vehicle. So, it’s ‘united we stand’. We need the three-wheeler when I want to go out with my family, and when I need only the two-wheeler for deliveries, I have the scooter, the electric scooter to take out.”
To get it certified for registration, Surge and Hero have had to work with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to create a new registration category for the S32. Called ‘L2-5’, this is defined as a “2-Wheeler-3-Wheeler Combi Module of a three-wheeled motor vehicle constructed in such a way that a two-wheeled vehicle of category L2 is combined with a non-self-propelled rear module unit. It can be separated or combined as and when required”.
The Surge 32 has been readied by “Surge”, a startup fully owned by Hero MotoCorp.
The Surge 32 is based on a modular EV platform called S32, which will spawn multiple body styles for various applications. What makes the Surge S32 unique is that it’s designed to quickly and conveniently convert between a two-wheeler and a three-wheeler. Essentially, it comprises a rickshaw without a front wheel, into which an e-scooter slots, and also acts as the front wheel. In this setup, the rear wheel of the e-scooter is off the ground and rests on the rickshaw platform.
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