Govt panel on EV testing standards to submit report this month

New Delhi, July 13

The government-formed committee to formulate new guidelines for electric vehicles (EVs) is set to submit its report this month, sources said on Wednesday.

Alarmed at the growing EV fires in the country, the government had formed a committee to bring in standard operating procedure (SOP) on battery certification and quality control in order to help EV makers develop efficient and safe products for the consumers.

The committee has experts from the Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore, Naval Science and Technological Laboratory in Andhra Pradesh, and the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, among others.

The panel has been tasked with formulating an SOP for battery certification and testing and validation of key battery components, sources said.

The fresh standards will focus on traceability of foreign suppliers of cells and battery components.

The Centre earlier sent show-cause notices to EV manufacturers like Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech and Pure EV, among others, warning them why a penal action should not be taken against them for delivering faulty electric two-wheelers to the public.

The EV makers were given time till the end of this month to respond in detail to the notices.

Once the responses are in, the government will decide which penal action is to be taken, if any, against the EV makers at fault.

Last month, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which comes under the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry, sent notices to Pure EV and Boom Motors after their e-scooters exploded in April.

The preliminary findings from the government-constituted probe committee on EV fires also identified issues with battery cells or design in nearly all of the electric two-wheeler fire incidents in the country.

The experts found defects in battery cells as well as battery design in nearly all EV fires.

These defects occurred because the electric two-wheeler manufacturers like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors may have used "lower-grade materials to cut costs", the earlier Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) probe had revealed.