Govt Bars EV Makers From Launching New Two-Wheeler In Market

New Delhi: The government has barred electric two-wheeler manufacturers from launching new vehicles till instances of fire are investigated.

According to a report by ET, the same was communicated to manufacturers at a meeting called by the Ministry of Road, transport, and Highway on Monday to discuss the rise in incidents of fire in the electric two-wheelers.

"EV makers have also been verbally dissuaded from launching new vehicles until clarity about the cause of fires and steps required to stop them have been firmed up," the reports quoted an official privy to the deliberations as saying.

In addition to this, the government has also asked the manufacturers to voluntarily recall the entire batch of vehicles if one from that batch was involved in a fire accident.

Meanwhile, Ola, Okinawa, and Pure EV have started to recall e-two-wheelers that they had sold.

In the meeting, EV makers were also apprised of the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act that allow the center to order forceful recalls and levy penalties.

As several cases of electric scooters catching fire have come to the fore, the central government last week had said that they were mulling penalizing these companies with heavy fines and mandate recalls if the concerned companies were found to be negligent as part of new "quality-focused" regulations.

The Minister further informed that the government had constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.

There have been nearly a dozen e-scooters caught or involved in the fire, including one made by SoftBank Group-backed Ola Electric, raising safety concerns among some buyers.

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