Ola Electric has announced the recall of over 1,400 of its electric scooters following scores of reports of two-wheelers catching fire, with at least four people dead so far. The decision was prompted by Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s request that EV manufacturers take “urgent action” to recall all faulty batches of their vehicles.
The scooters being recalled will be evaluated by Ola Electric’s service experts, who will run diagnostics on all battery, thermal, and safety systems. The company claims that their battery pack conforms with and is tested for AIS 156, the most recent proposed standard for India, as well as the European standard ECE 136.
Over a dozen electric scooters, including those made by Ola Electric, Okinawa, Pure EV, and Jitendra EV, have caught fire in recent weeks. A father and his 13-year-old daughter were killed after an Okinawa scooter caught fire in Vellore last month.
Around 20 Jitendra EV electric scooters caught fire while being transported from the plant in Nashik earlier this month. An electric scooter manufactured by Pure EV caught fire in Nizamabad, Telangana, on Wednesday, when its battery ruptured, killing an 80-year-old man.
The other firms have stated that they are looking into the causes of the fires. Pure EV has issued a recall for 2,000 electric scooters, while Okinawa has issued a recall for over 3,000 electric vehicles to check for potential safety hazards.
Gadkari stated earlier this week that if EV manufacturers are proven to be “negligent in their procedure,” the government will levy a severe penalty and compel a recall of all faulty EVs. He promised that quality-focused EV guidelines will be released soon. The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environmental Safety has been tasked by the Road Transport Ministry to investigate the fire accidents.
