An Auto rickshaw (auto or rickshaw in popular parlance) is a vehicle for hire that is one of the chief modes of transport in India as well as Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Sudan, and is popular in many other countries. It is a motorized version of the traditional rickshaw, a small three-wheeled cart driven by a person, and the velotaxi.

A small number of auto rickshaws and tuk-tuks can be seen on the streets of China Town in London, although used mainly by tourists and not the local population. The auto rickshaw is also related to its Thai, Lao, Cambodian cousins, the tuk-tuk and the Bajaj in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, whereas in Brighton, England auto rickshaws are called tuctucs.

An auto rickshaw, or simply just rickshaw, is generally characterized by a tin/iron body resting on three small wheels (one in front, two on the rear), a small cabin for the driver (called an auto-wallah in some areas) in the front and seating for three in the rear. Autos are generally fitted with a scooter version of a two-stroke engine with a handlebar for control (again like scooters) instead of a steering wheel, effectively making them a three-wheeler scooter carrying passengers on the rear seat. However, the former version has still not become extinct. In North India, there is a variation, powered by a Harley-Davidson engine, called the phat-phati because of the sound it makes. However this is almost extinct because of the amount of pollution it causes. Auto rickshaws are extremely light vehicles considering their capacity. When they break down, only two or three drivers are required to fully lift them off the ground and they can be easily pushed by one driver.

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