Battery safety standards have been modified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways owing to increasing fire incidents in electric two-wheelers. The amendments establish new safety standards for battery cells, battery management systems, onboard chargers, battery pack design, and thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuits causing fires. The revised mandate and proposed regulation will be effective from October 1, 2022.
The amendments were based on the report of a Road Transport Ministry expert committee. Amendment 2 to AIS 156 includes requirements for motor vehicles of the L category, which have fewer than four wheels and an electric power train. Amendment 2 to AIS 038 Rev.2 defines specific requirements for electric power trains of M and N categories of motor vehicles. While M category includes four-wheeled passenger electric vehicles, N category includes vehicles with four wheels used for carrying both goods and passengers.
Also, the Ministry issued revised notification GSR 659 (E) to amend Sub-rule 4 of Rule 124 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) 1989 in order to require Conformity of Production for traction batteries used in electric power train vehicles.
