The Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) announced on December 2nd that the country is investigating three electric vehicle manufacturers for allegedly defrauding government subsidies, with a total amount of 2.97 billion rupees (approximately 35 million US dollars).

MCA stated that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of India has conducted searches on Hero Electric Vehicles, Benning India Energy and Technology, and Okinawa Autotech International, and found that these companies have violated relevant regulations of government subsidy programs linked to production. The three companies that produce electric two wheelers mentioned above have not yet responded to requests for comment from foreign media.

The Indian Ministry of Heavy Industry (MHI) launched a subsidy program called "FAME II" in 2019, aimed at promoting local production of electric vehicles and driving the transition of the world's third-largest automotive market towards electrification.

MCA stated in a statement, "These three companies fraudulently claimed to comply with relevant guidelines to the Indian Ministry of Heavy Industry (MHI) in order to apply for subsidies, but it was later discovered that this statement was incorrect and false

MCA stated that these companies directly or indirectly imported some restricted components from other countries, violating the relevant guidelines of the program, and added that further investigation is still ongoing.

The electric two wheeler market in India is small in size but growing rapidly, and is expected to account for approximately 5% of total two wheeler sales in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.