Adil Jal Darukhanawala is a treasure trove of information when it comes to India’s automotive history, and his latest book, Kinetic’s Electric Energy, is a testament to that fact. In the last three decades of the 20th century, Kinetic Engineering was established as a force to be reckoned with under the stewardship of the Firodia family. Adil’s hugely detailed book traces the humble and truly frugal beginnings of the company all the way to today, when a resurgent Kinetic is looking to establish itself as a mainstay in the electric two-wheeler market.
This 170-page book starts off with a brief introduction to the Kinetic Honda DX while tracing the origins of the company with the spectacular moped success that was the Luna. The author goes into copious detail about how the company went to great lengths to ensure its moped transitioned India from pedal power to motorised mobility.
Not only that, chapters like ‘Lunacy on the Luna’ and ‘Beating the Queen – Kinetic Luna takes on the Indian Railways’ outline how Kinetic seized every opportunity to market the Luna. The former speaks about how the company sponsored five young college students – self-christened the Lunatix – on a 90-day, 18,000km journey traversing the length and breadth of the country back in 1982! The latter highlights how four humble Lunas and their gutsy as well as ingenious riders outran the Deccan Queen Mumbai-Pune express train in 1990.
Kinetic didn’t just rely on its marketing but also its belief in the motto ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’, which proved it was relevant not just in the high-end supersport world of motorcycling but could also ring true for the humble moped as it did in the chapter ‘Satish Apte and the World’s Fastest Luna.’ It documented how a fledgling team from Pune trounced the works team of the Hosur-based manufacturer through steely determination and some spectacularly out-of-the-box thinking.
From there, we move on to how Kinetic partnered with Honda and opened the floodgates for gearless scooters in India with its novel DX scooter. Even though this partnership didn’t last very long, as detailed in ‘Kinetic & Honda – Unfulfilled Promise’, it cemented Kinetic’s position in the market as a maker of reliable and affordable products.
This book also highlights the innovative spirit of the company’s leadership when you read about the stillborn but nonetheless revolutionary, hybrid scooter and compact city car concepts. At a time when India’s mobility market was cautiously walking, Kinetic took leaps of faith, and these have been beautifully articulated and illustrated in their respective chapters.
While Kinetic’s business was booming in the 20th century, its 21st century has been more muted between winding down ICE scooter production and the Motoroyale superbike business, which never managed to take off in a big way. However, as you flip through these pages, you’ll learn that with the reincarnated DX electric, Kinetic wants to recapture its magic of yesteryear and take the fight to the leaders’ doorsteps.
If you are someone with even a passing interest in the automotive arena, especially the events that transpired before the turn of the century and shortly thereafter, Darukhanawala’s latest discourse should surely find a place on your mantelpiece.