Piaggio Ape E City FX New Max

The Piaggio Ape E City FX New Max is a fully built, three-tyre electric passenger auto rickshaw from Piaggio, priced from ₹3.30 lakh. It is positioned for intra-city passenger transport, the kind of daily shuttle work where electric running costs matter as much as the fare collection. With a passenger-carrying layout that seats the driver plus three passengers, it is aimed at individual operators and small fleets running short, repeatable routes.

Range and charging

The FX New Max packs an 8 kWh lithium-ion battery and is rated for up to 174 km on a full charge under standard driving conditions. Charging from empty takes about 4 hours 45 minutes, which makes overnight home charging a realistic pattern, plug it in after the last trip and it is ready before the morning shift. The battery runs on a 51.2 V electrical system, a common platform across the Ape E-City line for serviceability.

Performance and payload

Power comes from a 7.40 kW electric motor producing 30 Nm of torque, with a top speed of 49 km/h and a gradeability of 19 percent, enough for elevated flyovers and ghat stretches in hill towns. The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of 731 kg against a kerb weight of 431 kg, which works out to roughly 300 kg of carrying capacity including the passengers. It rides on a 1920 mm wheelbase with 200 mm of ground clearance, tubeless 120/80 R12 tyres, and an automatic single-speed drive with one forward and one reverse gear. Braking is by hydraulic drum brakes, with a leading-arm coil-spring front suspension and semi-trailing rubber-spring rear suspension.

Who should buy it

This is a genuine commercial choice for an auto-rickshaw operator who covers city and suburban passenger routes every day and wants predictable energy costs instead of petrol swings. The 174 km range comfortably covers a full day of stop-start city driving, and the passenger carrier body with day cabin keeps the design simple to maintain. Fleet buyers moving to electric will appreciate the battery's serviceability, while individual drivers will weigh the ₹3.30 lakh entry price against daily running-cost savings. It is not built for long highway stints or heavy goods work, for that, look at a cargo-bodied Ape instead.