Tork Motors installs first EV charging station in Pune ahead of e-motorcycle launch

Tork Motors, the Pune based high-performance electric vehicle manufacturer, today laid the groundwork for the upcoming launch of its electric motorcycle by installing the first unit of its EV fast-charging station at Cafe Peter’s Bund Garden Road outlet in Pune, Maharashtra.

The new EV charging station is, according to the company, the first of many that the company plans to install. The state-of-the-art stations will incorporate smart EV chargers with secure connectors, to provide a fast charging facility and ensure a seamless payment experience for the users as well. 

The chargers are developed in line with the standardised Bharat EV specifications and will have the capability of providing up to 100V battery capacity. In the coming months, the company seeks to create a variety of chargers to its charging network that would easily facilitate e-charging for vehicles that are already present or yet to be launched in the market.

Launching the first charging station, Kapil Shelke, founder and CEO of Tork Motors said, “With the launch of our first EV charging station, we seek to drive the adoption of e-vehicles and especially electric motorcycles in India. We are excited to unveil the first public fast-charging station in our home city of Pune and consider it to be a step towards creating an easy to discover and accessible Tork Charging Network, reflecting our company’s vision. This move is also in line with our growth plans of offering a holistic and hassle-free experience to the consumer.”

Earlier this year, the company roped in Roy Kurian, who heldthe position of senior VP in charge of sales and marketing at Yamaha Motor India. In addition to introducing Tork Motors' flagship product, the T6X, Kurian will also focus on strategic tie ups, marketing and distribution of other forthcoming models.

Will T6X be the Tork of the town?
Tork Motors is readying to launch its flagship product, the much-delayed T6X electric motorcycle. Work on the T6X began in mid-2015 and the first prototype was unveiled in September 2016. With Bharat Forge (the world's largest forging company) coming on board as a strategic partner in early 2018, Tork Motors says it has made rapid progress on two fronts – technology and skilled resources.

The T6X has been built after five prototypes spanning 10 years of R&D. With the e-motorcycle in its final stages – a near-production-ready test mule of the T6X was snapped testing, earlier this year – Tork plans its launch in Pune. Bangalore and other cities in India will soon follow. 

Tork Motors, India’s first electric motorcycle manufacturing start-up, has a proprietary drivetrain technology called TIROS (Tork Intuitive Response Operating System) which is the intelligence that drives the machines.

Tork T6X is powered by a 6KW lithium ion battery and manages an impressive 27Nm of torque and a range of 100km in a single charge. Top speed is limited to 100kph at present; battery is good for 80,000-100,000km, company claims. 

The team has strengths in engineering, automotive design, embedded systems and automotive electronics that are assisting in creating practical electric mobility solutions for India with T6X. Tork Motors holds more than 40 different IPs with respect to their technology, design and trademarks. According to the company, the yet-to-be-launched motorcycle will solve rider pain-points with value-added features like GPS, utility storage, cloud connectivity and phone charging.

The T6X is high on connectivity. Apart from analysis and compilation of data for every ride, power management, real time power consumption and range forecasts, TIROS also captures the driving patterns of the rider.

Now, that the first of the Tork charging stations has been set up, it looks like wait for the T6X won't be that long.

Ather Energy, the Bangalore-based electric scooter maker, has already made much headway in setting up an EV charging network. As of May 2019, the Ather Grid network spans across 31 charging points across 24 locations in Bangalore and seven locations in Chennai. The company has plans to expand the network and set up charging points in 30 cities by 2023.