Incidents of one after another electric two-wheeler catching fire have raised many eyebrows and questions about the safety of these vehicles. The government of India, taking note of the same, has now formed an expert committee which will be investigating the cause of these incidents. In a series of tweets, Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways, has informed that the government is in no mood to overlook the incidents.
Gadkari recently tweeted, 'We have constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies. We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles.'
The Minister has made it clear that there will be a thorough investigation around the electric vehicle fires, and OEMs found guilty will be penalized for the same. More than a dozen electric scooters have caught fire within the last 30 days.
It may also be recalled that NITI Aayog's CEO Amitabh Kant had requested the EV OEMs to voluntarily recall batches of electric vehicles involved in the fire incidents. Two of these incidents have also cost human life dearly. Two individuals have lost their lives while charging their newly bought electric vehicles. Okinawa was the first OEM to recall a batch of electric scooters for voluntary testing. Ola Electric has also recently recalled a batch of electric scooters it sells in the country. Kant had noted that voluntary recall and testing could help the industry instil confidence in end consumers around electric vehicles.
'Meanwhile companies may take advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately. Under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi ji, our government is committed to ensure safety of each and every commuter,' tweeted Gadkari resonating with Kant.
The list of brands whose electric vehicles have caught fire in the recent past includes Ola Electric, Okinawa, Pure EV, Jitendra EV, Boom and more. Most of these OEMs have released statements noting that they are working on finding the root cause of the fire but none have come out with any kind of explanation yet. Ola Electric's social media handles, as a matter of fact, have been filled with comments and statements complaining against the brand.
India sold a total of 429,217 electric vehicles in FY 2022. The sales of EVs in the country were 134,821 in FY 2021. A lot of experts see the EV segment as the one that would revitalize India's automobile industry. It would be interesting to see how the government plans to penalise the OEMs if they are found guilty.