EV fire: Govt to call Ola and Okinawa for explanation on recent incidents

The government will soon call e-scooter companies Ola and Okinawa for an explanation on the recent incidents of fire in their vehicles, sources told CNBC-TV18 on Thursday.

According to the sources, technical teams of the two companies will be called after the probe by independent experts is completed. Independent experts are analysing the batteries of the vehicles that caught fire.

The government, depending on the conclusion of the report, will take a call on reviewing testing standards for electric vehicles (EVs), added the sources.

The government is looking at finding out if the cause was quality control issues in manufacturing or the driving style of the customers or how the scooter was maintained and whether the testing protocol for ARAI and ICAT needs to be revised, said the sources.

Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, while speaking in Lok Sabha on the EV fire cases on March 31, had said that the incidents may have taken place due to higher temperature. He, however, had said reports from expert committee were awaited for a final conclusion on the cause behind the fire.

"This is a very serious issue and we have ordered forensic investigation into each individual events," said Gadkari, adding that the government will take appropriate action after exact technical reason behind the accident is known.

Four incidents of fire on electric vehicles (EVs) were reported in less than a week. A fire incident took place on March 26 in the S1 Pro model of Ola Electric scooter in Dhanori area of Pune and in Praise Pro model of Okinawa electric scooter in Vellore in Tamil Nadu. In less than five days, another incident was reported on Monday from Trichy in Tamil Nadu. A fourth incident was reported on March 29 in Chennai where an electric scooter from Pure EV caught fire.