The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has allowed companies to sell electric two- and three-wheelers without batteries to create an ecosystem for clean transport. Electric Vehicles can be registered for use without a battery too.
The battery, which accounts for 30-40% of the total cost of a vehicle, could be provided separately by the original equipment manufacturer or the energy service provider. The step will make the upfront cost of the vehicles to be lower than ICE two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
The vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type of approval certificate issued by a test agency. There is no need to specify the make/type or any other details of the battery for registration.
However, the prototype of the electrical vehicle and the battery (regular battery or the swappable battery) is required to be type approved by the test agencies specified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.
For the promotion of electrical two-wheelers and three-wheeler vehicles, there are recommendations brought to the notice of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to delink the cost of the battery (which accounts for 30-40 percent of the total cost) from the vehicle cost.
The vehicles could then also be sold in the market without the battery. This will make the upfront cost of the electrical two-wheeler (two W) and thee- wheelers (three W) to be lower than ICE 2 and three W. The battery could be provided separately by the OEM or the energy service provider.