Random checks on EVs

May 18, 2023 11:25

The government is considering random checks on electric vehicles (EVs) after recent lapses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles (FAME) II scheme, according to government officials.

The checks will be conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). This follows the recent government action against two key players in the EV market -- Hero Electric and Okinawa Autotech.

"The ARAI will select a vehicle at random from the market and test it to check if the manufacturer is following the guidelines. If there is any violation, the ministry (of heavy industry) will take the same action it took aainst localisation and ex-factory price defaulters,' a government official said.The ARAI, established in 1966, is the leading automotive R&D organisation of the country set up by the automotive industry with the Government of India. It is an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries.

The ministry sent recovery notices to Hero Electric and Okinawa Autotech over a supposed breach of localisation norms.

Both companies have been "deregistered' from the government's subsidy scheme to promote electric vehicles.

The FAME scheme was introduced to facilitate India's transition to EVs. While FAME II has been successful in encouraging the adoption of EVs, allegations relating to the misappropriation of funds by bypassing localisation and ex-factory price norms have dampened sentiment.

Currently, inspection is done on a yearly basis to reduce the compliance burden on companies and promote ease of doing business. The testing agencies '" IARI and ICAT '" do their inspection annually before issuing a certificate of FAME India Phase II eligibility fulfilment.

"Because of recent events we would have to start random checks,' a senior official said. Under the FAME scheme, in order to be eligible for the subsidy, 50 per cent of the components in an EV should be domestically manufactured and sourced.

Based on a complaint that companies were not following localisation norms, the ministry halted the claims of a dozen original equipment manufacturers in September until the ongoing audit is completed.

-- Ruchika Chitravanshi and Nitin Kumar/Business Standard

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