Hughes Engineering's desire to contribute to solutions to climate change has resulted in our development of what we hope will be Australia's first production all-Australian-designed, three-seat, electric motor vehicle.

 

The ‘Roadie' as we call it, will be driven by state-of-the-art electronics and batteries and will feature an ultra-sleek and ultra-light aerodynamic body. Driving with a single rear wheel with two steerable wheels up front. And yes, there are a lot of similarities between the body of our Roadie and our Australian LightWing SP-2000 aircraft.

 

View the latest information on the Roadie, check out our GREAT GREEN IDEAS

 

 

 

 

"The Roadie" is currently Under Construction at the Hughes Factory.

 

Note: The British Government has set carbon reduction targets way above Australia’s, however they plan on providing financial incentives towards the purchase of clean green vehicles.

 

As of the end of 2008, we believe we are the only company to be seriously designing and developing a light electric vehicle in Australia. Whilst there are a number of designs around the world, we believe Hughes Engineering to not only be the sole Australian company actively pursuing this goal but also the only company capable of achieving a viable solution using aviation technology, to green non-polluting, personal road transport. Many companies are converting standard passenger vehicles to electric, but when this takes place all the problems of weight and aerodynamic drag go along with the standard vehicle - not a good solution!

 

 

The Roadie will carry two people, plus one or two children in the rear seats, at speeds of up to 100km per hour over distances that we hope will extend as far as 200km.

 

All of our images, by the way, are developed by Rex Forwood, a local graphic designer and all-round good fellow. If you need assistance putting your ideas on paper, call us and we will give you Rex's contact details.

 

The electricity stored in the Roadie's high tech batteries will cost no more than a dollar to charge, making the cost per kilometre over a 200km trip little more 2 cents per kilometre.

 

 

The CO2 emissions produced by the Roadie can be reduced to absolute zero by charging the vehicle from a home charging station based on solar and/or wind energy. Even if the vehicle is plugged into the grid for charging purposes, the amount of greenhouse gas produced per kilometre will be reduced to no more than 10 per cent of that which would be produced were the vehicle powered by burning fossil fuels.

 

 

How can this be so?

Firstly: because the Roadie is light, much less energy is used to cart itself about. I have driven a 4WD double cab for the past five years or so, it travels 10 kilometres for every litre but about 90 per cent of this fuel is used to (a) heat the air via the radiator and (b) cart the two tonnes of metal from which the chassi and body is made from A to B. It's so stupid, I don't want to heat the air, and the metal has no desire to go anywhere! The Roadie will weigh in at a fraction of the weight of my 4WD and has no radiator.

The Roadie will be manufactured using aircraft technology, which we hope clearly explains our claim that we are the only company in Australia capable of producing a viable electric vehicle, as weight - or the lack of it - is the key factor in the design and development of an electric vehicle.

 

Empty, or the max take-off, weight (or let's say the curb weight in road terms) of the Roadie will be less than 300kg, with a maximum weight of around 500kg.

We'll keep you updated on our project ** Watch This Space ** or please contact us for more information.

 

 

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View the latest information on the Roadie, check out our GREAT GREEN IDEAS