- Interestingly, this is the first time SMEV’s top management consists of leaders from the automotive components space
- In comparison, there are separate associations for automotive components manufacturers, and vehicle makers in India
The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) has announced changes in its leadership positions. R K Misra, Co-Founder of Yulu Bikes and Director at Magna Yuma, is now the new President of SMEV for 2023-24.
Notably, the association had suspended its leadership and structure some time ago, and since then Sanjay Kaul has been associated with the same as its Chief Evangelist. As a matter of fact, several letters have been sent to the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) by SMEV explaining how electric vehicle makers have been suffering because of the FAME Fiasco.
“An audit of the companies whose subsidies have been held up by the MHI since 2022 by SMEV’s chartered accountants indicates that the total damages could cumulatively account for over Rs 9,000 crores on a conservative basis,” read the last letter written to MHI by Kaul.
It continued, “I am concerned that this estimate is way beyond imagination and frankly embarrasses me because while I was engaging with prospective investors about deploying USD 1 Billion dollars in the Indian EV sector, it corresponds to approximately the same amount of money in losses for these companies.”
The OEMs, as per Kaul, claim that their situation has remained unresolved for almost 2 years and they continue to bleed. They propose that if it was the intention of the Ministry to “Punish them, why finish them?”
Kaul continued, “It is difficult not to empathize with them. A punishment that continues month on month for 22 months is itself a crime.”
Other notable changes in the management team of SMEV include appoints of Akshay Kashyap, Managing Director, Greenfuel Energy Solutions as Vice President; Umesh Balani, Managing Director, Rotomag/Rotomotive Group as Secretary; and Anadi N Sinha, Director, Group Corporate Affairs, UNO Minda as Treasurer.
Interestingly, this is the first time SMEV’s top management consists of leaders from the automotive components space. In comparison there are separate associations for automotive components manufacturers, and vehicle makers namely, The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
