Another e-scooter fire: Summer of discontent over EVs is here

What started as a small spark is now a raging fire. This is both in literal and figurative sense. Last weekend, a small fire mishap happened at Pune involving an Ola Electric e-scooter. It was followed by a more dangerous and fatal fire accident at Vellore as an Okinawa Autotech e-scooter exploded while charging, killing two persons. These were followed by a small EV fire in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

And now, a video of a Pure EV going up in smoke has emerged from Mathur Toll plaza in Manjampakkam area near Chennai. In the clip that runs for 26 seconds, a red colour e-scooter parked on the side of the highway could be seen engulfed in smoke with fire spitting out on and off. 

As this is the fourth incident of blaze involving EVs the outrage, anger and condemnation on social media platforms have been widespread.

The government, for its part, has swung into action. After the first two incidents involving Ola and Okinawa, the government ordered an inquiry into the two fire incidents. The government has reportedly deputed a team of experts to check into the actual reasons and circumstances that led to the fire in electric scooters. The teams will travel to Pune and Vellore to ascertain the cause.

Are poor quality Chinese batteries to blame?

A Pure EV spokesperson was quoted saying that said the startup had taken cognizance of the incident and was investigating the cause of it. The company claimed that it had followed all the best practices during the manufacturing, including a state of the art thermal management system.

There is no clarity yet on what is the reason behind the sudden spurt in incidents of e-scooters going up in flames. There are some reports that claim that the vehicles are heating up due to the blazing summer in India. But that idea seems unconvincing and unproved.

An accusing finger is also pointed at the battery. Most of the EV players are said to be dependent on cheap Chinese-made lithium-ion batteries, which form the core of these vehicles. The absence of quality control over the manufacturing of these batteries has fueled apprehensions that components of dubious quality could have triggered the fires.

Some claim that software malfunction could also be the reason behind the cases.

The incidents have, however, put the EV companies under pressure. Just as there had been a positive response to the electric vehicles among the public, these fire accidents have come as a bummer. And the industry is looking for ways to allay the fears that have cropped up in the minds of the general public.

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