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More than three million Americans can celebrate when they hear this story. Made in the USA but in demand worldwide, the Kenguru—a driver-only electric vehicle with no seats—promises mobility-challenged people unprecedented access to the everyday world the rest of us take for granted.
Imagine you can’t jump into a car quickly when it is raining, are unable to ride a bike, and most public transportation is not accessible to you. Transportation is a huge obstacle for people who use wheelchairs. It is often time-consuming, physically difficult, expensive, or just unavailable. This results in a disconnect from the community, an inability to work, and a lower quality of life…. Can you imagine having to depend on someone every time you wanted to leave your house?
The design of the Kenguru (Hungarian for “kangaroo” and pronounced the same) allows mobility-limited people to drive a car solely from their wheelchairs. The alternative, outfitting a van for wheelchair accessibility, costs over three times as much as the Kenguru price tag of $25,000—and that’s without zero-emission EV or vocational rehab incentives. Short neighborhood trips to places like a convenience store, park, or nearby mall are the Kenguru’s specialty. It’s over a foot shorter than the smart fortwo . The Kenguru allows drivers to get into the car and drive without leaving the wheelchair. To enter the vehicle, the driver pushes a button and remotely opens the back (only) door. (No room for passengers.) A ramp comes down. Wheel the chair in and drive the car. Lock it when you stop. The current model has motorcycle bars for handling and is designed for manual wheelchair-users like people with MS, who have upper body strength. A joystick-steering model is in development for people who use electric wheelchairs.
Imagine you can’t jump into a car quickly when it is raining, are unable to ride a bike, and most public transportation is not accessible to you. Transportation is a huge obstacle for people who use wheelchairs. It is often time-consuming, physically difficult, expensive, or just unavailable. This results in a disconnect from the community, an inability to work, and a lower quality of life…. Can you imagine having to depend on someone every time you wanted to leave your house?
The design of the Kenguru (Hungarian for “kangaroo” and pronounced the same) allows mobility-limited people to drive a car solely from their wheelchairs. The alternative, outfitting a van for wheelchair accessibility, costs over three times as much as the Kenguru price tag of $25,000—and that’s without zero-emission EV or vocational rehab incentives. Short neighborhood trips to places like a convenience store, park, or nearby mall are the Kenguru’s specialty. It’s over a foot shorter than the smart fortwo . The Kenguru allows drivers to get into the car and drive without leaving the wheelchair. To enter the vehicle, the driver pushes a button and remotely opens the back (only) door. (No room for passengers.) A ramp comes down. Wheel the chair in and drive the car. Lock it when you stop. The current model has motorcycle bars for handling and is designed for manual wheelchair-users like people with MS, who have upper body strength. A joystick-steering model is in development for people who use electric wheelchairs.
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