NITI Aayog Asks EV Makers To Recall Batches Involved In Fire

India has seen six reported electric vehicle (EV) fires this year. With more and more electric two-wheelers catching fires in the country, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has asked EV original equipment (OEMs) to voluntarily recall batches involved in the EV fire incidents.

With these several unexpected and tragic events reported across the country  the Government of India and state governments are also reportedly preparing comprehensive guidelines for the electric vehicle (EV) industry .

Amitabh Kant said, “The time is ripe for the EV industry to instill a sense of confidence in consumers the way global automakers do by voluntarily recalling their vehicles over fire risks. Manufacturing of battery cells isn't regulated. Battery management system needs to be strengthened. There has been a clear partnership between battery manufacturing and battery management.”

On 31 March 2022 Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, “The EV fire incidents may have taken place due to higher temperature. This is a very serious issue and we have ordered a forensic investigation into each individual event.” He had also stressed that the government will take appropriate action once the 30 day probe detailed technical report is submitted.

There are no comprehensive guidelines for electric vehicles in the country as of now, there are also reports the government is now preparing a comprehensive guideline for the electric vehicle industry.

It was just last week India saw the biggest electric vehicle fire till date. 20 electric scooters from Jitendra Electric Vehicles caught fire near Nashik on 9 April 2022. Jitendra Electric Vehicle said, “We are investigating the root cause and will come up with the findings in the coming days.”

The truck load of Jitendra Electric Vehicle caught fire reportedly at around 4.15 pm near a hotel in Pathardi Phata in Nashik. The fire was doused in an hour by personnel from CIDCO and Ambad MIDC fire stations. However, 20 of the total 40 electric scooters that were being transported by the container truck were gutted due to the fire. The exact cause of the blaze is still a matter of investigation.

The Okinawa ebike went up tragically in flames due to an electrical short-circuits in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, leading to two fatalities. On 26 April 2022 Ola Electric S1 Scooter caught fire, this was the fifth fire incident India had seen. The Jitendra EV fire incident was lucky with no fatalities; however the truck load of Okinawa ebike fire became fatal when two people died. The ebike tragically was in flames due to an electrical short circuit. The incident happened in Vellore in Tamil Nadu.

The government has also decided to call technical teams of Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooter for an explanation on recent fires in their EVs. The battery manufacturers are cautious and are assuring exhaustive tests and technology to deal with the overheating issue.

Why Are Electric Vehicles Catching Fire in India

 We will know the exact reason for these fires only after the completion of the investigations. However, two reasons could be that some have also attributed these fires to a combination of rising temperatures and the poor thermal management system of the EV. These repeated cases of EVs catching fire may dampen India’s drive towards e-mobility, feels the government.

EV companies should follow the global practice of recall. Batches of electric vehicle models that have caught the fire should be recalled in line with global best practices and for customer EV manufacturers are coming up with solutions to instill confidence in the customers.

Working towards the safety and in order to avoid EV fire, Hero electric will be offering a device with 3 alarms to prevent fire in e-scooters. By doing so they plan to instill a sense of confidence in consumers.

Now the question is should electric scooters catch fire, really worry us. Why electric scooters are catching fire and should this really make you’re about EVs.  From mobile phones and laptops to children’s toys and in the context of this article, electric vehicles, lithium cells power the modern world.

India has one of the strongest and strict standards on Electric Vehicles. Globally, there have been at least 25 incidents of electric vehicles including Tesla cars involved in fire accidents.

In 2021, Hyundai recalled more than 75,000 Kona electric SUVs globally including 456 units in India, after more than a dozen battery fire incidents were reported. Also, General Motors recalled 73,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs due to concerns of potential battery fires.

In 2020, USA’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) submitted a report after studying three electric vehicle crashes resulting in fires and one non-crash fire involving an electric vehicle. The crashes caused extensive damage that extended into the protected area of the cars’ high-voltage battery cases, rupturing the cases and damaging battery modules and individual cells. The non-crash fire was caused by an internal battery failure, the NTSB said in its report.

On the basis of its findings, the NTSB made safety recommendations to the American National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the manufacturers of electric vehicles equipped with high-voltage lithium-ion batteries.