Billionaire Baba Kalyani's Bharat Forge Plans To Enter India's Electric Vehicle Market With Tork Motors

One of the world's top forgings manufacturers Bharat Forge, which is the flagship company of Indian billionaire Baba Kalyani, recently announced plans to join the country's electric vehicle (EV) revolution.

The company, best known for producing auto parts that are exported all over the world, announced plans to produce electric two- and three-wheelers through its associate company, Maharashtra-based Tork Motors. The first model would be available in the market in 2022.

Tork Motors claims itself as India's first luxury electric motorcycle manufacturer, with two-wheeler powertrains in development since 2009. In 2018, the Puna-based Bharat Forge bought a 45 per cent share in Tork Motors, and it was later increased to 49 per cent.

Tork Motors is a company that creates electric motorcycles and electric powertrains for cargo and passenger three-wheelers. According to the website: "Tork motors build Asia's first electric motorcycle to compete in the Isle of Man Electric GP." The company, which is also focused on producing high-performance motorcycles for motorsport, says that "having a racing DNA and learnings from previous races the passion to race an electric motorcycle was never less. It was then TTXGP started a culture of first zero-carbon, clean-emission race to take place at the Isle of Man TT."

In the case of Bharat Forge's funding into this company, the vehicle manufacturing company stated that "the motorcycle has undergone a process of enormous testing and immense changing adaptation of various components. Bharat Forge funded Tork Motors to promote electric mobility in India."

Baba Kalyani's Bharat Forge announced last week that Tork Motors had met the government's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles Phase II (FAME-II) subsidy requirements, a programme aimed at encouraging the purchase of electric vehicles by providing buyers with discounts. According to reports, the company said: "We are happy to report that Tork Motors has achieved FAME-II homologation for multiple products, both in two- and three-wheelers and launches are being planned accordingly. We will make a detailed announcement in November."

The website of Bharat Forge includes information about the Tork Motors T6X model, which is powered by lithium-ion batteries, can reach a top speed of 100 kmph and travel 100 kilometres on a single charge. It also has a rapid charge mode that claims to charge the battery to 80 per cent capacity in an hour.

Bharat Forge will join a crowded field of competitors that includes startups like Ola Electric and Ather Energy, as well as top automakers like Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Hyundai Motor India.

Electric scooters are among the products offered by these companies, with some exceeding Rs 1 lakh in price. Meanwhile, Tork is interested in forming a partnership with three-wheeler manufacturers to supply electric powertrains.

Some of the larger firms in the electric three-wheeler area include Mahindra & Mahindra, Piaggio and Atul Auto, while Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company have yet to introduce their models in this segment.

With the support of Kalyani Powertrain (KPTL), which houses the e-mobility business, Bharat Forge plans to reach a 5 to 6 per cent market share in the e-mobility arena (two- and three-wheelers, trucks, and buses) by 2025. KPTL is in discussions with car manufacturers and fleet operators about making its e-mobility platform available to them.