In 2016, Pune-based EV start-up Tork Motors announced that it was opening pre-bookings for its highly anticipated T6X electric motorcycle. Things went silent soon after that.
- Company founder says bikes are ready for launch
- Original price point was quoted at Rs 1.25 lakh
- Original claimed figures were 100km range and 100kph top speed
Tork Motors: history
The challenges of successfully getting an automobile start-up off the ground are immense, and Ather Energy is one of the only Indian companies to have pulled this off with a high-quality product.
Well before Ather’s launch, Tork Motors was set to be among the first EV start-ups to launch a truly designed, developed and made-in-India product. This product was based off learnings gained by the company’s electric racing programme at prestigious overseas events, including the Isle of Man TT, where Tork collected a podium position in 2009.
However, delays are a natural course of action for most start-ups, as are financial challenges – both of which Tork Motors faced. Along the way, the company has raised funding from some big names, including Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal in 2016 and more recently, Ratan Tata in 2019.
Then came the global pandemic in early 2020, which, founder Kapil Shelke acknowledges in his recent Instagram post, was another challenge. Nevertheless, Shelke now states: “We are ready to step out of stealth mode. As promised, we are ready to deliver the best in class product to our customers. This took longer than anticipated, but good things take time.”
Tork Motors: T6X
The motorcycle Tork Motors unveiled in 2016 was called the T6X and Shelke’s recent post states that it will retain that name. However, much of the bike is slated to be different now. “The motorcycle structure has completely changed, with a redesigned LED headlight and tail-light, new switch cluster, larger battery pack, more 'Tork' and more power,” Shelke added.
Those last three points are key because the original T6X claimed a 100kph top speed and a range of 100km – good figures for 2016, but not good enough for 2021. Back then, the bike claimed a 130kg kerb weight with a 27Nm electric motor.
Tork states that it has developed a “groundbreaking 96 percent efficient axial flux motor” and that the bike will be manufactured at its newly built factory outside Pune.
Tork Motors: T6X launch
This is the extent of information available at the moment, but Shelke states in his Instagram post that more details will be revealed shortly. We reached out for further information on the product and actual launch date, but haven't heard back at the time of writing this report.
Coming to the price, the Tork T6X was expected to be priced around Rs 1.25 lakh in 2016. However, while input costs have risen dramatically since then, there have also been strong government subsidies introduced, so it will be interesting to see where the bike is positioned in the market today.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
