Government seeks safety, quality details from EV makers

Bengaluru: The union government has sought detailed information on the safety mechanisms and quality standards being adopted by electric vehicle makers, people directly aware of the matter told ET, in view of widespread concern over the rising number of EV’s catching fire in recent weeks.

Following a meeting on April 25-- attended by two and three-wheeler electric vehicle manufacturers—the ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has written to original equipment manufacturers asking for details of specific quality control measures.

“You are requested to forward copies of functional safety standards, the standard operating procedures in respect of quality assurance and quality control mechanisms being followed, and the protocol for testing for the components,” the ministry stated. (This is also from the email)


OEMs have also been asked to share “ideas, suggestions and recommendations on the regulatory regime for the prevention of such incidents in the future.”

ET has reviewed a copy of the email sent by the ministry on April 27, wherein companies have been given a week’s time to respond.

Earlier, at the meeting chaired by transport secretary Giridhar Aramane, EV makers were “sensitised to the requirements of ensuring quality, functional safety standards at various stages of design, procurement, manufacturing and servicing,” according to the letter.

MoRTH did not respond to ET’s queries on the developments as of press time.

Meanwhile, in a tweet on Thursday, the transport ministry also clarified that it has not instructed any OEM’s to cease the launch of new electric vehicle models until “instances of fire are investigated.”


Industry sources aware of developments told ET that “electric vehicle EV makers are likely to continue launching vehicles until they receive a formal order from the government dissuading them from doing so.”

Zero scooters
Hero Electric, India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) two-wheeler manufacturer by volume, said it did not deliver any vehicles in April as it struggled to cope with the global chip shortage.

“This has further increased the waiting list for its customers to 60 plus days and some of the dealerships have no stock to display,” the company said in a statement.

Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill apologised to customers for the delay in the delivery and cited the Russia-Ukraine war as the reason behind the chip shortage.

“It’s like putting an emergency brake on a fast moving train,” said Gill. “Our sales were almost doubling month on month and we somehow managed with sourcing from different geographies but the war collapsed a major supply chain resulting in this disruption.”

Hero Electric’s inability to deliver in April could also lead to rival Ola Electric grabbing the top spot in electric vehicle sales for the first time.

Last month, Hero Electric had sold more than 13,000 vehicles followed by Ola Electric, which sold more than 9,000 e-scooters in March.

Recall Policy
ET reported on April 16 that the government was considering a recall policy, in line with that for internal combustion engine (conventional fuel) vehicles. Government bodies such as the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), ARAI, Niti Aayog and the companies themselves have agreed on the need for such a policy, people aware of the matter said.

Over two dozen electric two-wheelers have caught fire of late, denting the confidence of the burgeoning EV industry, with some manufacturers facing customer cancellations after the fire incidents.

Electric two-wheeler sales had jumped five-fold in the previous financial year to 231,338 units and companies have ramped up production capacity.

Ola Electric, Pure EV and Okinawa said they will cumulatively recall over 7,000 EVs. This came after Nitin Gadkari, minister for road, transport and highways, asked EV makers to voluntarily recall faulty electric two-wheelers after a series of fire accidents.

Gadkari said an expert committee would be constituted to probe these incidents and would recommend remedial measures. If any company is found negligent in its processes, a heavy penalty would be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered, he said.