Union Consumer Affairs Ministry sends notices to Pure EV & Boom Motors

In the past few months, there have been several fires because of electric scooters. The government also launched a probe against the electric scooter manufacturers to find the root cause of fires. Now, Central Consumer Protection Authority which works under Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has sent a notice to Pure EV and Boom Motors. The scooters of both the manufacturers exploded in April, this year.

Central Consumer Protection Authority or CCPA is also examining cases of other electric scooter fires and will send similar notices to other manufacturers also. The government is already working on new quality standards that electric vehicle manufacturers would need to meet. The new quality standards would be revealed in the coming months.

Another electric scooter catches fire

Also read: Oppo to launch electric vehicle in India by 2024

In Telangana, an electric scooter caught fire and exploded while it was charging. Fortunately, no one was injured. This time the scooter belonged to Benling India which is a Gurugram based manufacturer. It is not clear which model caught fire. Till now, scooters from Ola Electric, Okinawa, Pure EV, Boom Motors and Jitendra EV have caught fire. Okinawa has recalled 3,215 units of Praise EV electric scooters while Ola Electric has recalled 1,441 units of S1 Pro electric scooters. Pure EV has also recalled 2,000 units of their electric scooters.

Government probe releases initial findings

The probe examined the battery cells from three manufacturers. They were Ola Electric, Okinawa and Pure EV. The final investigation report will be filed in the coming two weeks. The initial investigation says that the problem is with battery casing when it comes to scooters of Pure EV. In the case of Okinawa, the problem is with battery modules and cells. Unfortunately, India cannot test the cells that are imported from countries like Korea and China because of a lack of infrastructure and expertise. What we can do, however, is test the battery packs.

For Ola Electric, the culprit was battery cells and the battery management system. Ola Electric themselves also worked on finding the cause of the fire and their initial findings are opposite of what the probe says. Their assessment says that the battery management system has no fault and the fire was caused by an isolated thermal incident. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Electric has said that electric fires car happens in the future but they will be rare.

Ola Electric worked with the government and an external agency to find the root cause of the fire. The manufacturer says that they are using battery cells from LG Energy Solution. The company says that the government has not shared the report with them so they cannot comment on the electric scooter’s fire.

The scooters recalled by Ola belong to the same batch which caught fire. Ola will be running health check-ups and detailed diagnostics on these scooters. The scooter that caught fire was in Pune. Fortunately, no one was injured. Ola said that their batteries comply with European standards ECE 136 and AIS 156 standards.

Also read: Tata Punch Accomplished trim with Dazzle pack in a walkaround video

In the past few months, there have been several fires because of electric scooters. The government also launched a probe against the electric scooter manufacturers to find the root cause of fires. Now, Central Consumer Protection Authority which works under Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has sent a notice to Pure EV and Boom Motors. The scooters of both the manufacturers exploded in April, this year.

Central Consumer Protection Authority or CCPA is also examining cases of other electric scooter fires and will send similar notices to other manufacturers also. The government is already working on new quality standards that electric vehicle manufacturers would need to meet. The new quality standards would be revealed in the coming months.

Another electric scooter catches fire

Also read: Oppo to launch electric vehicle in India by 2024

In Telangana, an electric scooter caught fire and exploded while it was charging. Fortunately, no one was injured. This time the scooter belonged to Benling India which is a Gurugram based manufacturer. It is not clear which model caught fire. Till now, scooters from Ola Electric, Okinawa, Pure EV, Boom Motors and Jitendra EV have caught fire. Okinawa has recalled 3,215 units of Praise EV electric scooters while Ola Electric has recalled 1,441 units of S1 Pro electric scooters. Pure EV has also recalled 2,000 units of their electric scooters.

Government probe releases initial findings

The probe examined the battery cells from three manufacturers. They were Ola Electric, Okinawa and Pure EV. The final investigation report will be filed in the coming two weeks. The initial investigation says that the problem is with battery casing when it comes to scooters of Pure EV. In the case of Okinawa, the problem is with battery modules and cells. Unfortunately, India cannot test the cells that are imported from countries like Korea and China because of a lack of infrastructure and expertise. What we can do, however, is test the battery packs.

For Ola Electric, the culprit was battery cells and the battery management system. Ola Electric themselves also worked on finding the cause of the fire and their initial findings are opposite of what the probe says. Their assessment says that the battery management system has no fault and the fire was caused by an isolated thermal incident. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola Electric has said that electric fires car happens in the future but they will be rare.

Ola Electric worked with the government and an external agency to find the root cause of the fire. The manufacturer says that they are using battery cells from LG Energy Solution. The company says that the government has not shared the report with them so they cannot comment on the electric scooter’s fire.

The scooters recalled by Ola belong to the same batch which caught fire. Ola will be running health check-ups and detailed diagnostics on these scooters. The scooter that caught fire was in Pune. Fortunately, no one was injured. Ola said that their batteries comply with European standards ECE 136 and AIS 156 standards.

Also read: Tata Punch Accomplished trim with Dazzle pack in a walkaround video