[TusharK]

Sonalika has launched India's first field ready electric tractor called the Tiger Electric. It is available at an introductory price of Rs. 5.99 lakh (ex-showroom).



The Tiger Electric is powered by an IP67 compliant 25.5 kW natural cooling compact battery. It is claimed to reduce running costs by 25% compared to diesel. The battery can be recharged using a regular home charging point in 10 hours. A fast charger reduces charging time to 4 hours. Operating with a 2 tonne trolley, the tractor can run for 8 hours.

The Tiger Electric uses an Etrac motor that is claimed to offer high power density and high peak torque with zero RPM drop. The tractor can reach a top speed of 24.93 km/h.

The Tiger Electric is manufactured at Sonalika's facility in Hoshiarpur, Punjab.

[SandyX]

A decent sustainable garden tractor from the looks of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEHYhLiRAK0

[amarendernag]

Interesting!
What diesel tractor is it comparable to (in terms of bhp)?
Thanks.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Interesting. But is it just a fancy concept not meant to sell in the market? Reasons:

1. Power outages are common in rural India. This may create hurdles in charging just when it is needed.
2. Spending for the diesel everyday is somehow possible for the farmer. But if he has to spend a big mount for batteries in one shot, it will leave a negative feeling in his mind.
3. Range shortcomings and range anxiety on highways.

The above are the points of concern for a car buyer too. Comparatively, the farmer will be more resistant to change and they will have a closer scrutiny from the business perspective. They won't easily accept this concept unless it has more utility / profits and easy on cash flow.

[Vijay T]

For tractor, number of hours of operation is more important than range in kilometres.
He generally delivers produce to nearby factory or mandi.
I feel its excellent alternative.
Torque is what matters in tractor & this baby has loads of it.
Efficiency wise it will outclass similar spec Diesel tractor

[sarav100]

Originally Posted by amarendernag

Interesting!
What diesel tractor is it comparable to (in terms of bhp)?
Thanks.

It is comparable to GT20 tractor from same manufacturer, which has its use case in gardening applications.

Details here: https://www.sonalika.com/tractor/gt-20.html

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Interesting. But is it just a fancy concept not meant to sell in the market? Reasons:

1. Power outages are common in rural India. This may create hurdles in charging just when it is needed.
2. Spending for the diesel everyday is somehow possible for the farmer. But if he has to spend a big mount for batteries in one shot, it will leave a negative feeling in his mind.
3. Range shortcomings and range anxiety on highways.

The above are the points of concern for a car buyer too. Comparatively, the farmer will be more resistant to change and they will have a closer scrutiny from the business perspective. They won't easily accept this concept unless it has more utility / profits and easy on cash flow.

Agree with you from initial perspective. However, with wider adaption of electric farming equipment, I see following outcomes:

1. Electric farming equipment will be preferred by big farmers because they can easily afford to change battery packs and also will be able to recover its cost due to large farming usage. Maybe removable battery pack will solve range problem(in terms of hours, not kilometres).

2. While it will be unethical but still, I foresee some miscreants using tubewell electricity connections to charge their tractors/batteries for free. Just FYI, tubewell connections do not have electricity meters and have only fixed electricity chages. So, using electric tractor will be free for farmers (except for battery replacement cost). Diesel on the other hand, costs quite a lot and is used in good quantity in farming equipment.

3. No pollution whatsoever.

4. Power outage concern: Don't know about rest of India but in my village, we get dedicated 8 hours of 3 phase electricity supply to run electric tubewells already.

Whatever the case, I see more and more tractors and combine harvesters coming up in electrical avatar in upcoming years.

[landcruiser123]

Interesting addition, I'm not too sure about the adoption of electric tractors.
Reasons:
1. Tractors are used as transport vehicles in India - especially between the village & a nearby town
2. Many earth moving (digger, backhoe) & farming accessories (till, pumps, seed distributor, mini-harvester) rely on hydraulic systems powered by the engine. Would these accessories be backward compatible? (Couldn't find any information on this)
3. Some villages are still plagues by unreliable electricity supply
4. Not sure, but do Farmers in India produce biodiesel?

Most farmers are already financially stressed. The only way such a product will take off is if there's a government subsidised leasing scheme.

[GTO]

I think electric power is perfectly suited to tractors .

- Used in a closed environment

- A charging point is never too far away

- Range not much of an issue and actual driving km are limited

- Torque, torque, torque

- Silent operation

- Cost conscious farmers will appreciate the low running costs

- Simplicity means less things that break or require maintenance

- No smoking exhaust? Would that help crop in some way?

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Power outages are common in rural India. This may create hurdles in charging just when it is needed.

Things are improving, man. We have a home in Deolali with farms on both sides. 5 years back, power used to go out a couple of times a week. We just spent a week there. Not a single power cut.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

[*]Power outages are common in rural India. This may create hurdles in charging just when it is needed.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123;496176[/QUOTE

3. Some villages are still plagues by unreliable electricity supply

Things are improving, man. We have a home in Deolali with farms on both sides. 5 years back, power used to go out a couple of times a week. We just spent a week there. Not a single power cut.

It may come a a surprise to many Indians but for the last three years our electricity production outstrips demand. The weak link is not producing enough electricity but the distribution system and its inadequate hardware. I suspect we'll in our own rumble tumble way get there too.

Originally Posted by GTO

I think electric power is perfectly suited to tractors .

It is more suited to the tractor than the car. Eventually better and more powerful models will come. It is only a matter of time when solar panels get powerful enough to be a meaningful adjunct to on the go re-charging of the vehicles batteries. The efficiency of solar panels has increased about 10 fold in 20 years and there is more to come.

[aargee]

First thing to come on my mind was - Why missed the opportunity, especially when you're the leader in tractors?

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Interesting. But is it just a fancy concept not meant to sell in the market? Reasons:
[*]Range shortcomings and range anxiety on highways.


The above are the points of concern for a car buyer too. They won't easily accept this concept unless it has more utility / profits and easy on cash flow.

I would say there won't be range anxiety because, most of the farmer's use of tractor is pretty much scheduled and he can plan to have it full charged and ready. And as a small farmer for a typical land size of say 10 or maximum 20 acres, 8 hours operation is more than sufficient even without considering the breaks that farmers take (which can be used to charge it a little).

Now for the profits and cashflow, there is another angle. Few farmers lend the tractors to others, now with not much awareness how will other farmers react?

Originally Posted by Vijay T

Torque is what matters in tractor & this baby has loads of it.
Efficiency wise it will outclass similar spec Diesel tractor

Oh! Torque on anytime demand. I see a lot of times farmers accelerating more to climb on bunds.

OT: Point is, with this much torque available at wheel, will there be any drag racing in Punjab and Haryana? we see there are few wheelie and tug-of war competitions, may be we will witness wheel spins in future.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Interesting addition, I'm not too sure about the adoption of electric tractors.


Most farmers are already financially stressed. The only way such a product will take off is if there's a government subsidised leasing scheme.

Subsidy is key here from both state and central government, they could give at least some percentage of concession on electricity bill for electric tractor owners for a start.

Few more of my opinions:

1. Tractors in India were and are mostly uncomplicated mechanical mules, where a local mechanic or farmer himself can do repairs. What will be the scene with electric tractors?

2. How safety will be made aware of, in case of high voltage systems?

3. Financially, what will be the resale value and opportunity for electric tractor since there is no market now?

4. There are few equipment attached to tractors which need PTO (power take off) on bigger models, how this will be addressed?

[gnome]

Originally Posted by GTO

I think electric power is perfectly suited to tractors .

Things are improving, man. We have a home in Deolali with farms on both sides. 5 years back, power used to go out a couple of times a week. We just spent a week there. Not a single power cut.

This will be a no-go in most areas until there's policy changes. In many states like Karnataka and Andhra where power is free in farms, three-phase power is only available for few hours per day. This is to prevent farmers from using too much power and water. It's the cost of "free".

[srishiva]

Not sure how long the introductory price lasts. Isn't it inexpensive for the battery capacity that it offers? Looks good for high torque farm needs looking at the low max speed gearing.
Managing battery safety would relatively be easier with the ground clearance.

[rrsteer]

This may find buyers among large farmers that use tractors specifically for agriculture. But for the large majority- especially here in Punjab- tractor is everything from a community transport mechanism to a vehicle for transporting heavy loads from farms to mandis, for example, I dont forsee much uptake. You can see the role these machines are playing in the current farmer protests. We also have something called ‘Jor melas’ that happen a few times in a year, where whole villages from all parts of the state come and gather together - all transported through tractor trolleys.

[SuperFlyBoy]

Originally Posted by gnome

This will be a no-go in most areas until there's policy changes. In many states like Karnataka and Andhra where power is free in farms, three-phase power is only available for few hours per day. This is to prevent farmers from using too much power and water. It's the cost of "free".

Maybe installing solar panels/plants at the farms might help out in some way??