Centre Asks Electric Two-Wheelers Makers To Halt New Launches

The Central government has asked electric two-wheeler manufacturers to halt the launch of new vehicles until instances of fire and poor performances are investigated.

This was informed to the manufacturers during a meeting called by the Ministry of roads, transport and highways on Monday to discuss the rise in incidents of fire in 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," an official told The Economic Time.

The Ministry also asked all electric two-wheeler makers to voluntarily recall the entire batch of vehicles if one from that batch was involved in a fire incident.

"Most have already begun this process," the official said.

Last week, Transport minister Nitin Gadkari asked electric vehicle makers to voluntarily recall faulty electric two-wheelers after a series of accidents in which some lives were also lost.

As per reports, nearly 7,000 e-two-wheelers were recalled by Ola, Okinawa and Pure Ev after Gadkari’s call.

Further, the EV makers were also reminded about provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act that allow the Centre to order forceful recalls and levy penalties on errant manufacturers.

"Manufacturers who did not have incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire have also been cautioned to take corrective actions on their sold vehicles," said the official.

"The roads ministry has asked EV makers to educate consumers about charging safety and how to prevent fire incidents,” he added.

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