This electric two-wheeler company leads in EV segment sales in July; Ather and Ola see sharp drop

Hero Electric led the EV two-wheeler segment, selling 8,952 vehicles for the entire month, followed by Okinawa Autotech at 8,094 vehicles, the latest VAHAN data has revealed. Ather Energy sold just 1,279 EV two-wheelers for the full month of July from selling 3,829 vehicles in June - a massive drop in numbers - followed by Ola Electric which sold 3,852 vehicles from 5,891 vehicles in June. Ampere Vehicles Pvt Ltd, which sold 6,542 vehicles in June, saw a minor drop at 6,312 vehicles last month.

The drop in EV two-wheeler sales, according to industry experts, is due to the fear among consumers regarding the safety of EV two-wheelers in light of several battery fire and explosion incidents in the recent past.

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari last month told Parliament that all those EV two-wheelers companies have been served show-cause notices whose vehicles caught fire owing to battery issues. The Ministry constituted a committee of experts to suggest safety standards for batteries, battery components, and related systems.

Based on the information of fire incidents available, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways issued a show-cause notice to the CEOs and MDs of the electric two-wheeler manufacturers concerned, to explain the reasons as to why the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act should not be invoked against them.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, said this week that it issued notices to four to five EV two-wheeler makers in the light of several complaints raised by the consumers over battery explosions and fire incidents.

The CCPA received several complaints from the EV two-wheeler buyers.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has also been informed. A DRDO probe had revealed defects in battery cells as well as battery design in nearly all EV fires.