oppn parties EV Manufacturers Must Get Their Act Together Fast

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
EV Manufacturers Must Get Their Act Together Fast

By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-04-22 06:07:02

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.

Given the number of electric vehicles on Indian roads, the number of incidents of vehicles catching fire due to battery conflagrations is above average. Although this is happening mostly with two-wheelers, the threat perception in the minds of those owning EVs and those thinking of buying one is growing. Safety considerations are of prime importance when one buys a vehicle and if reports of EVs catching fire or batteries exploding continue to come out, people will unfortunately turn their backs on EVs and that will push India back in its endeavor to cut back on vehicular emission by adopting EVs at a fast pace. The government has been incentivizing both production and purchase of EVs by offering tax benefits and production-linked incentives to producers and subsidies and permit and road tax benefits to consumers. But price and running costs will become secondary if the consumer is not convinced about the safety of the vehicles.

The government has taken note of the rising incidents of battery conflagrations. It has constituted an expert committee to inquire into the incidents of fire and suggest remedial steps. Transport minister Nitin Gadkari warned EV manufacturers of 'heavy penalty' if they were found negligent in their processes and also advised recalling of vehicles to rectify battery and other possible architectural defects, failing which he said that a recall of all defective vehicles will be ordered. He also said that the government will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for electric vehicles. In the meantime, the government also unveiled the draft battery swap policy that is likely to give a push to use of EVs by allowing swapping of discharged batteries with charged ones at swapping stations (although experts say that the prohibitive cost of swapping will not enthuse the B2C sector.

To reach its climate goals, India is committed to promote the use of sustainable and non-polluting fuel. EV manufacturers will have to ensure that quality and safety standards are not compromised. Since it is going to be a huge market, it will also be beneficial for their brand if they are able to churn out zero-problem vehicles. Hence, while manufacturers should reexamine their processes to make the vehicles safer, the government must keep watch but must not over-regulate the sector. Finally, market dynamics will ensure the survival of the EVs that will meet quality standards and are safe.