Akash –a young rickshaw workshop mechanic from Narayanganj, relying solely on local resources available, with his wit, and strong determination –has built an electric car, drawing inspiration from the world famous Italian luxury sports car manufacturer Lamborghini.
First glance at the car would fool anyone into thinking that the car was made abroad, or the car was reconditioned from the body of a foreign vehicle.
Made almost from scratch, the car runs on five batteries, and has a top speed of 45 kmph. The batteries can take up to five hours to fully charge, and have a runtime of 10 hours.
Akash Ahmed hails from Lamapara of Fatullah village, and works at his father’s rickshaw workshop near the Dhaka-Narayanganj road.
He had been on the project for over one and a half years, and the hard work has finally paid off.
Since his childhood, Akash had a dream of driving a car made by himself. With that in mind, at the beginning of 2018, he proposed the idea to his father Md Nabi Hossain. His father recognizing Akash’s passion, allowed him to pursue his goal.He saved his daily allowance of Tk100-200, and spent it on making parts, necessary for the car, by hand. For this, he followed Youtube tutorials, and his own experience gained through working with shipbuilding helped him design the body of the car out of steel.
“Having no prior experience in car manufacturing, I had to rely on estimation, and instincts for the most part. But this work has paid off in my favour. The car was made from scratch, only the wheels and steering are purchased,” said Akash.
When asked about the manufacturing cost of such a car, Akash said: “In total Tk3.5 lakh has been spent on the manufacturing.”
“When I drove the car around on Eid holiday, I received tremendous responses. Some have made harsh remarks, and did not believe I had built the car, but I didn’t pay any heed to it. I worked so hard to build the car. There’s still some work left. I want the doors to slide up and down with a switch,” Akash added.
Asked about the next goal, Akash said, “I would request the government to allow the car to be marketed. I do not want to sell its design to anyone else.”
“The environmentally friendly car has attracted orders for 25 more cars. If I can market the car, people can acquire it for Tk4 lakh only, he added.
