Auto-Parts Billionaire Baba Kalyani Enters India’s Hotly Contested EV Race

Auto-Parts Billionaire Baba Kalyani Enters India’s Hotly Contested EV Race

Baba Kalyani on the first day of the India Economic Summit in Mumbai, India. Billionaire Baba Kalyani's flagship Bharat Forge recently revealed its plans to jump onto India's electric vehicle (EV) bandwagon. The $500 million (revenue) company, which is best known for making auto parts that are exported around the world, said it's getting into the business of producing electric two- and three-wheelers through its associate company Tork Motors. The first model is expected in the market in 2022 Tork Motors positions itself as India's first premium electric motorcycle company, having developed two-wheeler powertrains since 2009. Bharat Forge first acquired a 45% stake in Tork Motors in 2018 that was later increased to 49%. Tork Motors develops high-performance electric motorcycle and electric powertrains for cargo and passenger three-wheelers. Last week, Bharat Forge said Tork Motors had met the subsidy requirements of the government's Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles Phase II (FAME-II) scheme, a program aimed at boosting the purchases of EVs with subsidies for buyers. Bharat Forge's website features details of Tork Motors T6X model, which is said to be still under development. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, Tork claims the T6X can reach a top speed of 100