Implementation of safety standards has played a key role in significantly reducing battery-fire incidents in electric vehicles, says Saharsh Damani, chief executive of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (Fada). However, the same approach may not be necessary to address software glitches in EVs, as different [Original Equipment Manufacturer] OEMs employ different software systems, he tells Outlook Business in an interview.
Edited excerpts:
Consumers are reporting EV-software issues, most recently with Mahindra. How does Fada address this?
Whenever a new technology comes in, we face some teething issues. But over time, they settle. That's what's been happening with the new age of EV products.
Mahindra opened booking for its new EVs in February. But when they were showcasing the vehicles, they clearly mentioned that the software running on the test drive vehicles is of beta version, which means it is not finalised and still under testing.
There were a lot of upgrades coming in when they launched the vehicle. In such cases, newer versions of firmware, software and even new hardware come into the system.
Even the key of the vehicle—that Mahindra had given during the test drive, was changed when deliveries started, which means they had done a lot of upgrades there as well.
Manufacturing a vehicle is not an easy process. A lot of R&D goes into it. A lot of components are used. And when you're talking about electric vehicles, different companies provide chips, circuits, wires and software, which get integrated into a vehicle.
Another thing is that OEMs have to work in a production schedule manner. That is, if I have to deliver [the product] after 30 or 60 days, I work backwards.
You cannot wait until all the software gets updated. Vehicles keep getting manufactured. By the time they reach the dealership, a lot of new firmware comes in and software upgrades have happened.
Therefore, there were some hiccups in the initial days when (Mahindra’s) electric vehicles were getting delivered. A lot of over-the-air (OTA) software updates were happening, which means the dealership cannot do anything. Only the system can apply the software update through over-the-air which happens from the manufacturer’s side.
No one wants the customer to face any glitches once the vehicle is delivered because in EVs, the vehicle may even stop working if some issue arises.
So, after all the updates, the vehicles were delivered and the issue has been streamlined now.
Many vehicles are now being delivered to dealerships with the latest software updates pre-installed by the OEMs, eliminating the need for additional updates after purchase.
This [software updates] also happens in smartphones. It does not mean there is a bug. And even if there is, they (the companies) fix it and make the software more efficient for the customers. In a software-driven market, these updates are the new normal and will keep happening throughout the product’s life cycle. So I think it's a part and parcel of the software industry.
Unlike smartphones, any technical issue in an EV can compromise the safety of the user. How can it be avoided?
I'll talk about two examples. In India’s automobile industry, there are legacy players and new-age players. And once a new-age player enters, they are in a rush to launch their product to gain recognition, market share and justify the money raised from equity investors.
But to achieve all these, they may take shortcuts in terms of vehicle security and testing whereas legacy players do enough testing for a long time. They find and fix the bugs.
In a country like India—where temperatures range from 50°C to -25°C, plus humid conditions in the East and dry heat in Delhi— companies must test [EVs] thoroughly across geographical and climatic conditions.
Plus, when we talk about EVs, regulations are still evolving. Initially, there were no standards for battery-management system. A lot of fires incidents were getting reported, especially in electric two-wheelers.
Now you barely hear any such issue because technology matured and institutions like the Automotive Research Association of India (Arai) and the Ministry of Road Transport came together to set regulations for battery standardisation and [Battery Management System] BMS.
Do you think similar regulations are needed for software-defined vehicles as well?
I don’t see a requirement right now because in software-defined vehicles, every company may have a different set of software, operating systems and vendors. Software glitches gradually come down after a lot of testing and customer feedback.
As I said earlier, even the software of a smartphone keeps getting upgraded. If everything were foolproof or bug-free, there would be no updates. Software updates aren’t only about fixing bugs but also improvements for future use.
So it’s a different architecture altogether. It’s not mechanical like ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] vehicles which had more than 20,000 moving parts. EVs have less than 2,000 such parts. These can only be tested thoroughly and improved based on user feedback. That’s how more efficient software will emerge as more data comes in.
Does Fada have any SOP for dealers when such issues arise in a vehicle?
We don’t issue any SOPs because every OEM may have different architecture. SOPs are generally given by individual OEMs. For software issues, companies handle it directly through OTA updates. Manual things like body dent or brakes are handled at workshops.
Do you think such issues can impact the sale of EVs in India?
I don’t think so. Safety issues arising from fires are already in control. There may be software bugs but not all EVs are affected from it. It may be specific. For example, if a sensor gets loose, it may halt the vehicle. It is a minor issue. Such problems will be ironed out over time.
Why customers are still shying away from EVs is that they’re more expensive than ICE vehicles. Customers will be more comfortable when price parity comes in. Right now, a ₹6 lakh ICE vehicle may cost ₹8 lakh in its EV variant.
Second issue is range—what’s claimed versus real-life range. That must improve for customer confidence beyond city driving.
Third is the need for good charging infrastructure across cities and highways so that charging anxiety disappears.
If these three things improve, there’ll be no issue. Then the choice will be about green vehicles themselves—hybrid, strong hybrid, EV, flex fuel or hydrogen fuel.
