E-scooters catching fire: TransportMin orders investigation, ropes in DRDO arm

In another incident in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, an electric two-wheeler manufactured by Okinawa went up in flames, claiming the lives of a man and his daughter. Both of these two-wheelers had been tested and received their vehicle type approvals before they were launched.

Ola Electric said it was investigating the root cause behind its scooter catching fire. “We’re in constant touch with the customer who is absolutely safe. Vehicle safety is of paramount importance at Ola and we are committed to the highest quality standards in our products. We take this incident seriously and will take appropriate action and share more in the coming days,” the company said in a statement.

Okinawa, however, claimed that the fire in its electric two-wheeler was an “evident case of short circuit due to negligence in charging the vehicle”, The company said it was waiting for the complete investigation to unfold.

Industry experts are blaming the thermal runaway of the Lithium-ion battery for the reason behind the fire. “Owing to the onset of summers in India, the ambient temperature of the Lithium-ion batteries in the EV can go up close to 90-100 degree celsius and could result in a fire in some cases,” an industry expert said.