Ola to repay customers for separately billed chargers

Electric scooter manufacturers in India have been under scrutiny over the billing of chargers as an add-on rather than including them in the ex-factory price of the vehicle. This has allowed them to stay within the price cap and qualify for the government’s FAME 2 subsidy. Ola Electric has agreed to comply with the directive to compensate customers for the charger price billed separately. However, Ather Energy, TVS, and Hero Motocorp have not decided to follow suit. The companies have had meetings with the government, but there is no word on whether they will comply. Including the charger in the ex-factory price would cost the companies an additional ~50-100 crore, depending on the company. A whistleblower had complained that including the charger in the ex-factory price would disqualify the vehicles from the subsidy. The Department of Heavy Industries investigated the matter and started withholding subsidy disbursements for vehicles sold from January onwards. Ola and Ather agreed to include the charger price in the ex-factory price from April. They also tweaked their on-road costs to exceed the ~1.5 ex-factory caps. However, the issue of compensating customers who have already paid for the chargers remains unresolved. The Department of Heavy Industries has asked the companies to pay back the customers, after which the pending subsidies would be released. Ola has complied with the order, but other companies are still considering their options. Subsidy disbursements for vehicles sold earlier will be withheld until the matter is resolved.