Amid the recent incidents involving electric two-wheelers catching fire and the sharp criticism being construed towards the EV two wheeler industry ministry of Road transport and highways to resist from launching new vehicles into the market until further notice. The announcement from the ministry has been conveyed verbally “where the ministry has asked the manufacturers to stop launching new vehicles until clarity about the cause of fire and the steps required to stop them are firmed up”.
The announcement follows shortly after government intervened to recall offerings that were produced in the same batches as of the scooters that caught fire. As a result of this order, all the manufacturers whose scooters caught fire in the recent events, such as Ola Electric, Okinawa auto tech and Pure EV, have recalled nearly 7,000 scooters sold in the affected batches.
A reminder of the penalties
In addition to this, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also reminded the electric vehicle manufacturers about the various provisions under which they can be penalized or ordered forceful recalls if any suitable action is not taken by the manufacturers whose scooters haven’t till now shown any such signs have been cautioned as well.
It is not the only announcement directed by the Indian Government to the electric vehicle manufacturers. In the high-level meeting between the government officials and representatives of electric two-wheeler brands, it was also decided that if the serious defects in the electric two-wheelers are not addressed in the first place, the government will impose heavy penalties.
Government to shutdown manufacturers who resist guidelines
In the final step, if the issue is not addressed even after the penalties are imposed, then the government can even seal the manufacturing facility of the electric two-wheeler manufacturer altogether. The Ministry announced that the manufacturers will be asked to follow the required safety and quality processes with a no-compromise attitude in failure to do so the above mentioned actions would follow. The Ministry also confirmed that new protocols and quality measures will be introduced for electric two-wheelers in the coming weeks.
These announcements by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have come at the right time when the sales of electric two-wheelers are at an all-time high. Such incidents of electric scooters catching fire are only tarnishing the image of electric mobility and acceptance of electric vehicles by people.
