As mercury levels climb in the country, multiple incidences of electric scooters catching fire have grabbed headlines in recent days. Soon after, the Ola Electric scooter caught fire, and an entire truck carrying over 40 Jiterndra EVs was burnt to ashes as a result of the EV fire.
Now, a second and equally horrific instance has emerged from Tamil Nadu, in which an Okinawa dealership was spotted bursting into flames. The incident was started by an electric scooter that caught fire when it was parked inside the showroom.
Fortunately, no one was injured, and the fire was eventually put out with the aid of spectators.
Following this incident, Okinawa Autotech has recalled 3,215 Praise Pro electric scooters. This is the first instance of an Indian manufacturer having done so in response to a string of recent fires, which are thought to be caused by faulty batteries.
“This is part of the company’s full powerpack health checkup camps.” “The batteries will be tested for loose connections or damage and fixed free of charge at any of the Okinawa authorized dealerships throughout India,” the firm said in a statement on Saturday.
Since October, three motorbikes on Okinawa have caught fire, injuring two people.
Okinawa Autotech is the third-best-selling electric two-wheeler manufacturer in March, with 8,284 units sold, after Hero Electric (13,023) and Ola (9,127).
The action comes as the government contemplates an electric vehicle recall policy in line with that for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Niti Aayog and companies have agreed on the need for such a policy.
Meanwhile, as a result of the aforementioned fire events, dealers have begun cancelling contracts and consumers have cancelled bookings and sought refunds. Booking cancellations have been reported by Ola Electric, Pure EV, Okinawa, and Okaya.
Reference- HT Auto, ET Auto, Rushlane, Twitter, Autocar India, Financial Express, Okinawa website