Truck-load of electric scooters catch fire, raises EV safety concerns in India

Electric vehicles (EVs) are prone to fires, and now reports have surfaced that at least 40 Jitendra Electric Vehicles electric two-wheelers have caught fire in Nashik. According to a report, a fire in a shipping container in Nashik was put out.

A container carrying 40 electric vehicles was en route to Bengaluru when the incident occurred.

The company is investigating what led to the fire. "We are investigating the root cause and will come up with the findings in the coming days," the company was quoted as saying. No one was injured in the incident. The latest EV fire joins the growing list of such incidents - five so far, in just two weeks, forcing the government to initiate a probe.

The government last week decided to call technical teams of Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooter for an explanation on recent fires in their EVs, after an independent expert probe is completed soon.

After Ola Electric and Okinawa e-scooters caught fire and raised alarms in government circles, another electric scooter of Hyderabad-based Pure EV caught fire in Tamil Nadu. The company said it was investigating the incident.

The Okinawa e-bike went up tragically in flames due to an electrical short-circuit in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, leading to two fatalities.

Okinawa Autotech had said that they adhere to the highest quality standards in their electric scooters. "This particular case has further brought to light how important it is for users to understand the correct usage and charging guidelines for EVs," the company said in a statement.

The battery manufacturers are cautious and are assuring exhaustive tests and technology to deal with the overheating issue.