After the government indicated the company was among those being investigated for embezzlement, India’s Avon Cycles Ltd denied any wrongdoing in a scheme offering subsidies to vehicle makers to boost the sale of electric vehicles (EV).
Under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME) programme, the Indian government is reimbursing electric car and hybrid vehicle manufacturers for lowering the purchase price of their vehicles.
Complaints were filed against 12 electric vehicle and component makers, including Avon Cycles, for breaking criteria under the 100 billion rupee ($1.21 billion) scheme, Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey told parliament on Tuesday.
The other companies identified by Pandey did not reply to a request for comment from Reuters.
According to Pandey, two of the 12 companies have been barred from claiming incentives as a result of the probe.
Avon Cycles said in an email on Thursday that it does not have any two wheeler model covered under the initiative, and its three wheeler models that qualify under the policy “completely match the eligibility criteria”.
“At present we have presence in low speed category of two wheelers only, which implies that we do not have any two wheeler model which is covered under FAME – phase 2 scheme and hence no subsidies have been claimed in two wheeler segment by ‘Avon Cycles Limited’,” the company said in a statement.
“We do have two number three wheeler models which qualify under FAME – phase 2 scheme which fully meet the eligibility criteria set by the concerned authorities. Also, the sales volumes of these three wheeler models sold under the stated scheme, so far, have been insignificant” they added.
India aims to increase its electric car market from 1% of total automotive sales (about 3 million per year) to 30% by 2030.
