EV scooter catches fire, minister of road and transport warns firms of ‘heavy penalties’ 

Must read

On Thursday, taking notice of repeated incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire, union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said “The government will announce ‘quality-centric’ guidelines for manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) while also warning them of heavy penalties in case of negligence”.

Now India is all set to target 80 percent EV sales perforation for two and three-wheelers, almost 70 percent for commercial vehicles, 40 percent for buses, and 30 percent for private cars. Gadkari added “The ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) had constituted an expert committee to examine EV manufacturing problems, especially those related to two-wheelers, and make directions to be added to the upcoming guidelines.”

The minister also advised EV companies to act responsibly by identifying and recalling defective batches without waiting for orders or the guidelines from the ministry. Gadkari also stated in a series of tweets that “Several mishaps involving electric two-wheelers have come to light in the last two months. It is most unfortunate some people have lost their lives and several have been injured. We have constituted an expert committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.  According to the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies.”

In the past, more than dozen electric two-wheelers have caught fire, the scooters are manufactured by Ola Electric, Pure EV, Jitendra EV, and Okinawa. Around three people have died in these incidents and Each company has also brought out an internal investigation.

On 20 April, an 80-year-old man died and four others in his family were injured after the battery of an electric scooter exploded during the charging at their home in Telangana’s district. On Thursday, manufacturers of Pure EV stated that it has recalled 2,000 vehicles in the hands of models ETrance Plus and EPluto 7G. Another Pure EV two-wheeler caught fire on the borders of north Chennai in the Manjambakkam area on March 28. Before this, there were incidents in Pune and Vellore involving the same battery issues.

 

- Advertisement -spot_img

More articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -spot_img

Latest article