Whistleblower Alleges Foul Play, TVS, Hero Vida & Ather Respond

Brands are deploying refunds and price cuts for damage control

Recently, an alleged whistleblower email sent to the Ministry of Heavy Industries expressing concerns over FAME II subsidy exploitation has put premium EV marques like TVS, Ather and Hero Vida under the spotlight. The email claims these brands have exploited a loophole in the subsidy scheme by excluding their chargers from the cost of the scooter thereby meeting the Rs 1.5 lakh ex-showroom threshold to avail the subsidy. It claims that customers have paid more than they should’ve and here’s how the brands are responding.

TVS released a statement claiming that it is a “responsible corporate” and has complied with all FAME II norms by the book. However, to ease the minds of its customers, it is issuing a refund to all existing iQube customers. It says the entire exercise will cost them not more than Rs 20 crore. Ather too has gone with a similar approach. Existing 450X e-scooter owners will get a refund and future customers won’t pay extra because from here on the charger will be bundled with the cost of the scooter. 

Ather has also stated that because there is no explicit law in place stating that the charger must be bundled with the scooter, hence it chose not to from the get go. But, after a discussion with the Ministry of Heavy Industries, it is changing tact. Meanwhile, we have reached out to Hero Vida and it has chosen to temporarily hold back on making any official statement on the same. However, Vida has been slashing prices for its V1 e-scoots scooters considerably - almost 25k price cut.   

The EV industry in India is new, and subsidies at both central and state level have helped bring exposure to this sustainable yet expensive mode of commuting. As battery technology gets cheaper, brands will not need to depend on subsidies to keep the pricing in check. That said, brands taking steps like this and keeping transparency in their pricing will go a long way in building trust with customers and retain their faith in EV adoption.