Former Yamaha head of Sales and Marketing, Roy Kurian joins Tork Motors

India Yamaha Motor's former Vice President of marketing and sales, Roy Kurian, who had resigned from the Indian arm of the Japanese two-wheeler brand in February this year, has joined Pune-based Tork Motors. Roy Kurian has been appointed as the head of sales and marketing at Tork Motors.

Also read: Tork T6X electric motorcycle spotted on test

Kurian’s appointment comes at a crucial time as Tork Motors is preparing to introduce its first product - the T6X. Speaking about Kurian joining the company, Kapil Shelke, CEO and founder, Tork Motors, said:

We are delighted to have a veteran like Roy join our team. We are set to achieve a strong impact on launch of India’s first electric motorcycle and are banking on the wealth of information and experience Roy brings to the table.

Commenting about his new role at Tork Motors, Kurian said:

I am excited to be a part of the ‘future’ and it is the right time to dive in, learn and create a path for the inevitable EV space.

Tork Motors has released a teaser video of its upcoming electric motorcycle - the T6X. The bike will benefit from various features that will come from the Tork Intuitive Response Operating System (TIROS). The system will learn the riding pattern – a feature that we have already seen on Ather 450 electric scooter.

The motorcycle, as told by Shelke in a recent interview, will arrive towards the end of 2019. It will be launched in Pune first, followed by Bengaluru and other cities. It will be manufactured at the company's upcoming Chakan (Maharashtra) plant, which will have a production capacity of 20,000 units per annum. Operations here will commence in four months.

Tork Motors will import the lithium-ion battery for the T6X, while the rest of the parts will be sourced from local vendors. Shelke confirmed that the T6X would receive 90% local components. Heavy localisation of components will help the company to keep the prices low and, at the same time, benefit from FAME-II subsidy.

Also Read: Ather 450 and 340 electric scooters witness a marginal price hike

The new ex-factory price of the Tork T6X will be higher than the INR 1.25 lakh tag that was announced in September 2016. Back then, the electric motor on the T6X made 8 bhp of power and 27 Nm of peak torque. In the old configuration, the electric motorcycle had a top speed of 100 km/h and a range of 100 km. Zero to 80% recharge time stood at an hour, while a full charge was claimed to take two hours. Shelke said that the T6X has been "vastly improved”, and so, we can expect a higher range and faster charging.