Tork Motors' fast charge blunder: Decided to take legal action on brand

The new 750W portable charger is incompatible with the old port, leaving early buyers without any viable options for fast and portable charging.

BHPian Venky03 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The Fast Charge Blunder:

The bike was delivered to us with a temporary charging port as they had not yet finalized the connector design and we were assured that it would be fixed in due course. At the two service camps, they informed us that the fast charge port will be installed by late March/early April. Then they posted this update on 15th May 2023

Later they posted this update on 21st June 2023

After waiting for almost 10 months, I lodged a complaint on the INGRAM portal about the fast charge port and headlight issue, and after 2 months this was the reply from Tork:

Kratos R Bike is a fast-charging-enabled bike. The Company provided this feature/function keeping in mind the development of fast chargers/fast charging stations at PAN India level by the Company/various market players shortly. The Customer can do fast charging with the existing Vehicle Inlet (“Charging Port) provided there is availability of a fast charger. The fast chargers were not developed earlier. Now, the Company has developed fast chargers the market price of which is approx. Rs. 2.50 lacs. The Company has installed the same at a few locations and the Company is planning to expand the fast charger network PAN India. Further, the Kratos R bike was expensive because of other features too As per Annexure I. The additional features and technology were as under: Further, considering Government of India Standards (“BIS”) for the standardization of regular and fast chargers for Light EVs in India, the Company is now providing a Standard Charging Port along with a modified Charger (having a charging gun/adapter) which enables the Customer to do regular charging with the modified charger, and also to do fast charging at the points where fast charging facility is available. The Company morally felt to offer the same benefits to its early customers and hence decided to provide a standardized charging Connector and Charging Port voluntarily without any liability/mandate, that too free of cost. Migrating to a standardized connector required software and hardware changes (including replacement of Telematics and ECU Devices) on the early Kratos R model. To make these changes, the availability of the components is a challenge, but the Company is ensuring that it is going at a steady pace. Further, the market price of the Standardized Connector and Charing Port, Software and Hardware changes is approx. Rs. 23,000/- to Rs. 25,000/-. You would appreciate that the Company is providing all these things to its valued customers for FREE OF COST. It was/is at the option of the Customer to get the above changes done on its Vehicle. The Dealer is contacting all the early Customers as per the Vehicle sales sequence and is informing them about the above-mentioned option. For the Customers who wish to get the said changes done in their Vehicles, a Labour Cost of only Rs. 800/- + Taxes is being charged by the Dealer as Service Charges, as the procedure is critical and labour-intensive. The Company is already bearing the huge material cost voluntarily as mentioned earlier. The Company thinks that the said labour charges charged by the Dealer are justifiable. As mentioned above, the Company is enabling its existing customers to take the benefit of fast charging at public locations by providing an updated Charging Port. The said adapter is provided to connect with the new Charging Port installed on the Vehicle with the existing home charger. After the charging is done, the adapter/gun etc. can be kept in the Vehicle Utility Box at Home or any such safe/secured place. Logically, anything that is kept in an unsecured/unsafe place may be more likely subject to theft. Further, concerning the Customer issue regarding the headlight beam throw, it is submitted that the Company has passed the tests as required by Certifying Authorities. The Certifying Authorities have their own rules, guidelines and procedures. Unless the OEM passes the Certification, it cannot sell its Vehicle in the market. The Company is committed to adhering to such rules, guidelines and procedures to provide its esteemed customers with the best Product which the Company can. Still, the Company takes the suggestions/comments of the Customer positively and will try to work on it.

In their response, they've framed it as a gesture of goodwill to provide us with the fast charge port. However, we had already paid the full amount upfront for the Kratos R variant, explicitly advertised with fast charging as a feature.

Around 20 users, including me, sent a legal notice to Tork due to unresolved issues. With no response within 15 days, we're now taking the legal route against the brand. The bike is exceptional, surpassing competitors like Revolt and Oben, but the top-level decision-makers are a letdown.

The Portable Charger Blunder:

Initially, all customers from the first batch received a wall mount charger with the old connector design. However, new customers are now provided with a portable charger. When we inquired about exchanging our old wall mount charger for the new portable one, they denied the option. The new 750W portable charger, priced at INR 19,999 is incompatible with the old port, leaving early buyers without any viable options for fast and portable charging.

We simply requested a clear timeline for the installation of the charging port and a one-year extension of the warranty, given that we've been using the bike without the advertised features for the past year. Can't fathom what's going on with Tork, but this attitude from the brand is uncalled for.

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