Fact Check: Is it true that govt asked EV manufacturers to halt two-wheeler launches?

New Delhi, Apr 29: The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways has rubbished media reports that claimed that the government has asked electric two-wheeler manufacturers not to launch new vehicles till instances of fire are investigated.

"EV makers have also been verbally dissuaded from launching new vehicles until clarity about the cause of fires and steps required to stop them have been firmed up," the Economic Times reported as officials as quoting.

The report comes in the wake of series of EV explosions that happened in the span of a month.

"All electric two-wheeler makers have also been asked to voluntarily recall the entire batch of vehicles if one from that batch was involved in a fire incident," the report added.

However, the government has termed the report as fake. No such directive has been given by the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.

Notably, Ola Electric is recalling 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers in the view of recent incidents of two-wheelers catching fire, claiming at least four lives to date. Okinawa Autotech had recalled over 3,000 units, while Pure EV did a similar exercise for around 2,000 units.

In the last few days, there have been widespread incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire in various parts of the country forcing manufacturers to recall their vehicles.

Have other EV makers issued a recall?

The other companies are currently investigating the reasons behind the possible causes of the fire. Pure EV has initiated a recall of 2,000 of its electric scooters, while Okinawa has announced recalling more than 3,000 over potential safety issues.