Okinawa Autotech, one of India’s leading electric two-wheeler manufacturers, has inaugurated its first research and development centre in Italy, in association with its joint venture partner Tacita. The company plans to invest 25 million euros (Rs 220 crore) over the next three years in the new facility.
The new Centre of Technology will be headed by Pierpaolo Rigo, co-founder, Tacita and will operate in collaboration with Okinawa’s local R&D team in India. The facility and its staffers will focus on new product development, upgrading of the existing product portfolio and also development of an all-new electric powertrain to support the next generation of products from Okinawa. The R&D centre will employ 50 specialists both from India and across the world, with plans to soon start an employee-exchange program with Tacita to nurture employee skills both at domestic and international levels.
India-specific electric cruiser motorcycle coming soon
The first product, which is designed at the global centre, will be an electric cruiser motorcycle that is slated to be premiered in the coming months in India. Tacita, which was founded in 2009, designs and manufacture high-performance electric motorcycles. The company’s website currently shows that Tacita produces six electric motorcycles across two brands – T-Cruise (Urban and Turismo) and T-Race (Motard, Enduro, Rally, Cross).
Tacita is also engaged in R&D work of electric powertrains which includes design and production of high-torque traction motors, motor control units, CAN Bus interfaces, model and analysis of mechanical housings.
Jeetender Sharma, MD and founder, Okinawa Autotech said, “Setting up the global R&D centre showcases our ambition to bring the best technologies from the entire world to our Indian customers. The centre will be working on developing futuristic technologies for next-gen electric vehicles. We appreciate the support received from our partner Tacita in developing our first high-speed electric cruiser motorcycle for the Indian and global market.”
In CY2022, Okinawa Autotech, which has a portfolio of both high- and low-speed e-scooters, sold a total of 101,366 units and was the second-placed EV OEM, after Ola Electric.
Okinawa, which is seeing strong demand for its iPraise+ and Praise Pro high-speed models, currently has a network of over 350 dealers in key metro cities and now aims to reach Tier 2-3 cities as well as rural India. Given the much lesser competition in the electric motorcycle market in India, Okinawa is looking to achieve gains. Will the soon-to-be-revealed electric motorcycle have what it taken to win? Watch this space.
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