The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has refuted media reports that claimed the government has asked electric two-wheeler manufacturers to refrain from launching any new products in the market in the wake of EV fires.
Government officials have refuted media reports claiming that the government has asked electric two-wheeler manufacturers to refrain from launching any new products in the market in the wake of EV fires. The Ministry issued a clarification saying it has not asked any EV manufacturer to stop production.
Clarification reads “A section of media has reported that MoRTH has asked electric two-whaler manufacturers not to launch new vehicles till instances of fire are investigated,” it said in a tweet late on Thursday. “The Ministry wishes to clarify that there is no such instruction and such reports are unfounded, misleading, and far from the truth.”
Nonetheless spilling water over the government’s green push toward EVs, recent incidents involving 2 scooters from prominent EV brands bursting into flames, have brought the subject of EV safety under the scanner. To date, three Pure EVs, one Ola, two Okinawa, and 20 Jitendra EV scooters have caught fire in the country.
According to a Reuters report, lithium-ion batteries (used in the Ola scooters), whether used in electric vehicles or electronic devices, can catch fire if they have been improperly manufactured or damaged, or if the software that operates the battery is not designed properly.
Last week, Nitin Gadkari made an announcement saying if EV makers are being negligent in ensuring the safety of EVs, they will face hefty penalties and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.”
Minister also said, “We have constituted an Expert Committee to inquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies”.
The Centre, on April 7, decided to call technical teams of Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooters for an explanation on recent fires in their electric two-wheelers,
Following the warning remarks from the minister, the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are also trying to figure out the cause of the fires.
Okinawa Autotech, an electric scooter maker, announced that it would recall 3,215 units of its Praise Pro scooters to assess and remedy any battery issues with immediate effect.
Ola Electric also said that it will recall 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers due to reports of cars catching fire; followed by PureEV recalling 2000 units.
