The government has given electric vehicle manufacturers more time to implement new safety standards, pushing back the deadline which was October 1.
They can now incorporate the changes as per Automotive Industry Standards 156 and 038 in two phases: the first set by December 1 and the rest by March 31, 2023, the road transport and highways ministry said Tuesday.
The government had announced the stringent safety requirements earlier this month, covering the battery systems, after several incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire.
These included additional safety requirements related to battery cells, battery management system, on-board charger, design of battery pack and thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuit leading to fire. ET reported on September 17 that battery makers might get a four-five-month extension.
Sohinder Gill, director general of the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles, said if the government had gone ahead and implemented the new regulations from October 1, it would have brought the EV industry to a grinding halt.
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The Transportation Department said it had OK’d EV charger plans from a last set of 17 states, triggering the release of $1.5 billion in federal funds to all jurisdictions nationwide – or $5 billion over five years – to install or upgrade chargers along 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) of highway from coast to coast, with a goal of 500,000 EV chargers nationwide. Plans for the other 33 states and the District of Columbia were approved earlier this month.