Electric Vehicle Registration Norms Revised, Battery Now Separate Entity

BGauss B8 Front — Battery pack(s) will from now be treated as separate entities

Sale and registration norms for electric vehicles have been revised and now EVs without battery will, from now on, be registered in our country, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has stated.

In a notification sent to Principal Secretaries and Transport Commissioners of all States and Union Territories, the ministry has communicated the above. This has been done to promote electric vehicle sales, especially 2- and 3-wheelers.

Why was there a need to make this call? Well, recommendations were brought to the notice of the ministry to delink the cost of the battery (which accounts for 30-40 percent of the total vehicle cost).

Road Transport Ministry reckons this will make the upfront cost of electric 2-wheelers and 3-wheelers lower than that of their Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) counterparts.

What the ministry states is that relevant forms under Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, such as Form-21, Form-22 and Form-22A required for motor vehicles under Rule 47 (Application for registration of motor vehicles), clearly specify engine number or motor number (in case of battery operated vehicles).

So, it has made it mandatory for test agencies to type approve the prototype of the electric vehicle and the battery (regular or swappable) under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules. Also, the ministry has stated that there is no need to specify the make, type or any other details of the battery for the purpose of registration.

This means vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certificate issued by the test agency. The battery pack could be provided/sold separately by the OEM or energy service provider.

We have to wait and see how this updated electric vehicle registration norms help EV sales, since the biggest factor that prevents people from buying EVs at the moment is the charging infrastructure or the lack of it. However, if this decreases the price of EVs, then we shall welcome it.