New Delhi:The government has received complaints of misappropriation of subsidy given to a dozen electric vehicle manufacturers under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME India) and the subsidy payment has been stopped in the case of two electric vehicle manufacturers, heavy industries minister Mahendra Nath Pandey informed the Lok Sabha.
Under the FAME India Phase 2, the government has allocated a subsidy of Rs 10,0000 crore for a period of five years, from 2019-2024, to reduce the upfront cost paid by customers who purchase electric or hybrid vehicles.
However, the subsidy is given to those electric vehicle manufacturers that follow the government norms related to local manufacturing of electric vehicles and components in the country. The government said the ministry of heavy industries had received complaints against at least a dozen electric vehicle manufacturers and most of the complaints were related to violation of Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) guidelines under the second phase of FAME India Scheme.
These companies include some of the biggest electric vehicle manufacturers in the country such as Hero Electric Vehicles Private Limited, Okinawa Autotech Private Limited, Benling India Energy and Technology Private Limited, Okaya EV Pvt. Ltd, Greaves Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Ampere Vehicles Private Limited) and Revolt Intellicorp Pvt. Ltd.
While Hero Electric manufactures Optima, Photon and Nyx electric scooters that have been hugely successful in the electric two-wheeler market, Okinawa manufactures EVs under the brand name of i-praise and praise pro among others.
Similarly, Benling India manufacturers Aura electric scooter, while battery manufacturing company Okaya manufacturers Okaya Faast electric scooter, among other electric scooters and mopeds, and Greaves Electric Mobility manufactures its electric scooter under the brand name of Ampere Magnus, a popular electric scooter in Indian market.
Revolt Intellicorp manufactures the Revolt RV400 electric motorcycle, which is a popular electric motorcycle in the country with a claimed range of 150 kilometres per charge. In addition to these well-known electric manufacturers, the government has also received complaints of subsidy misappropriation among other electric vehicle manufacturers such as Jitendra New EV Tech Pvt. Ltd and Delhi-based Lohia Auto Industries which manufacture electric rickshaws, scooters and mopeds.
The government has also received complaints against Kinetic Group company - Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions Limited. Kinetic Group was known for iconic Luna and Kinetic Energy manufactures Zing electric scooters and electric cycles. Similarly, the government has received complaints against another established cycle manufacturer - Avon Cycles Ltd – which diversified into manufacturing of electric bicycles.
Authorities have also received complaints against two more companies - Thukral Electric Bikes Pvt. Ltd and Victory Electric Vehicles International Private Limited. The minister informed the Lok Sabha that all these complaint cases have been referred to the testing agencies for re-verification.
“After examination of reports in respect of two OEMs, the models of these two OEMs have been suspended from the FAME scheme. Further, the processing of their pending claims has been stopped till they submit sufficient evidence to show their compliance to PMP timelines,” Mahendra Nath Pandey informed the Lok Sabha.
