After an investigation found that Hero Electric and Okinawa, two electric two-wheeler companies, had violated provisions of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) II scheme, the Indian government is expected to issue recovery notices.
Following allegations of falsified localization claims and incorrect subsidy claims by 12 electric two-wheeler manufacturers, a probe by government of India was intiated into the implementation of the Rs 10,000-crore FAME II scheme which was launched last year.
The government’s investigation discovered that both corporations violated the localization program to which they had agreed, this forced the government to stop payments to these companies, which came as a shock to the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as the FAME II scheme as this helped them sell electric vehicles at reduced prices.
The recovery notices will be severed shortly which will seek to recover the subsidy amount disbursed under the scheme.
However, both companies, Hero Electric and Okinawa, have denied violating the provisions of the FAME II scheme.
A Hero Electric spokesperson responding to the allegations said in a statement, “This is not true; the company hasn’t got any information on this. In fact, Hero Electric along with 13 other OEMs are in discussions on reimbursement of subsidy already passed on to customers for the last 16 months and also continuation of subsidy beyond FAME II so as to bring down the ‘on-road price’ of electric two-wheelers, and we hope for an early resolution.”
Reference- Economic Times, Business Insider, Business Standard, Press Information Bureau release, Inside EVs