E-two wheelers on fire brings safety of Li-ion batteries under spotlight
Friday, March 26 will go down as a black
day in the history of the e-two wheeler industry.
In a span of 24 hours, two electric scooter models went up in flames. While
such incidents of e-two wheelers bursting into flames, have been on a rise with
increasing sales, it’s the first one that has claimed two lives. Including the
recent ones, over half a dozen cases of e-two wheelers catching fire has been
reported in less than a year.
Experts are of the view that given the novelty of the technology
and an under developed testing system the government should introduce a
mandatory recall policy for EVs.
“It’s a new technology, therefore, the ecosystem for a rigorous
testing and validation of the vehicles and its parts and aggregates have yet to
fully mature and develop, " said Balraj Bhanot, former Director ARAI,
automobile homologation expert and former chairman –central motor vehicle
regulations (CMVR) committee.
“There’s a need for a mandatory recall till the technology
matures. Why should customers suffer? The manufacturers should be penalised,”
he added.
The mishap on Friday involved a brand new Okinawa model going up
in flames, the second one was a parked Ola S1 bursting in flames. It didn't
have any casualties.
It has come to light at a time when battery-powered EVs are being
touted as cleaner, greener and cheaper alternatives to their ICE counterparts
and getting all the policy thrust from the government.
In an email response a spokesperson at Ola Electric said the
company is aware of an incident in Pune that happened with one of its scooters
and is investigating to understand the root cause and will share more updates
in the next few days.
“We’re in constant touch with the customer who is absolutely safe.
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