The government has asked electric two-wheeler makers to stop new launches. The government has taken this decision due to the fire in EV batteries across the country. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways discussed the increasing number of fire incidents in electric two-wheelers during a meeting in the capital. In this meeting, it has been decided that companies whose electric two-wheeler has not caught fire, they will also not launch any e-scooter this year.
The government also instructed to recall
After consultations with several companies, an official said, “EV manufacturers have been verbally prohibited from launching new vehicles unless there is clarity about the cause of the fire and how to prevent them.” The steps required are not strengthened.” All electric two-wheeler manufacturers have been asked to voluntarily recall the entire batch of all vehicles if any one vehicle from that batch was involved in a fire incident.
Also read- Why is there a fire in Electric Scooters? Understand its reason and safety tips from experts
Recall for 7000 electric two-wheelers
When cases of EV fire started coming to the fore one after the other, the government directed strict action against EV companies. After which many companies recalled their EVs. Okinawa issued a recall for 3,215 scooters. Pure EV also recalled 2,000 units. At the same time, Ola Electric has also recalled 1,441 scooters to be recalled. Several other small companies are also recalling their electric two-wheelers.
Also read- Electric Scooter Fire: Blast in the battery of scooter purchased a day ago, 1 killed, 3 injured
Team formed after fire incidents
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has also formed an expert committee a few days ago to investigate these incidents. This committee will not only investigate the incidents of fire in electric vehicles, but will also give necessary suggestions to prevent these accidents. He termed these incidents as unfortunate and said to impose heavy fines on the companies concerned if found negligent.
Few cases of fire in electric two-wheeler
1. The first case of EV catching fire was reported on 26 March. At that time, a blue colored OLA S1 Pro electric scooter parked on the roadside in Pune caught fire. The video of fire and smoke coming out of the battery compartment of the scooter had gone viral.
2. On 26 March itself, a fire broke out in an Okinawa electric scooter in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Two people who were driving the scooter died in this incident. It was one father and the other son.
3. On March 28, an incident of fire broke out in an electric scooter of PureEV in Chennai. Today a new incident has come to the fore. In the last seven months, 6 cases of PureEV scooter catching fire have been reported.
4. On April 11, several scooters of Jitendra Electric caught fire simultaneously in Nashik. They were being taken from one place to another in a truck. The government has also ordered an inquiry in this matter.
5. On 18 April, a dealership agency in Okinawa in Tamil Nadu was burnt to ashes. Sources related to the matter said that first the fire started in a scooter after which the fire spread. The company has also recalled 3,215 units in the past.
6. On April 21, an 80-year-old man was killed by an EV in Nizamabad city of Telangana. The battery of his PureEV electric scooter exploded after being charged all night.