Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

Centre to Revise Testing Norms for Batteries, Battery Management and Cells

The government has also ordered a probe into how the vehicles caught fire abruptly. The Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are also trying to figure out what caused the fires.
April 20, 2022
electric two-wheeler

The recent electric two-wheeler fire has prompted the central government to review the quality of electric two-wheeler batteries. The electric mobility sector has come under intense scrutiny after several electric vehicles caught fire in recent days, raising concerns about consumer protection and other damage. The government is taking the issue seriously as it has been pressuring the industry through subsidies and regulatory relaxation for some time. Significantly, in the last 30 days, half a dozen electric scooter fire incidents have been reported across India.

A CNBC-News 18 report, citing sources, said that the Centre is planning to discuss with the EV makers about the issues with particularly electric two-wheelers that recently caught fire. The report said the government will if they found necessary, give directions and advise the companies whose EVs caught fire.

Sources said Ola, Okinawa, Jitendra Electric and PureEV have been advised to take measures to prevent such fires in future.

It was also pointed out that, if necessary, the government may advise EV manufacturers to take steps. The government is reviewing the quality assurance and quality control standards of the manufacturers.

In the first incident, on March 26, a new blue Ola S1 Pro electric scooter caught fire while parked on the side of the road in Pune. The video, in which smoke is seen coming out of the battery-operated bogie, has gone viral on the internet.

In the second tragic incident on the morning of March 26, a father and daughter died of suffocation when an electric scooter from Okinawa in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore left on charging caught fire.

A few days after these two incidents, on 30 March, an electric scooter manufactured by PureEV caught fire in Chennai.

Forty electric scooters of Jitendra Electric Vehicles (EV) caught fire after loading the Nasi into a shipping container on April 11. A government inquiry has been ordered and experts have been appointed as part of the investigation to find out the cause of the electric scooter fire.

Last week (April 13), NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant called on original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of electric vehicles to voluntarily remove batches involved in fires in electric vehicles. Earlier, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha that fires in electric vehicles indicated that the incidents were caused by high temperatures.