It seems that electric vehicles in India are facing a rough patch lately with multiple reports of fires emerging from across the country. The latest incident involves an Ola S1 Pro premium electric scooter that caught fire in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Authorities investigating cause of fire but speculation suggests possible short circuit caused fire. This news has raised significant concerns among EV owners and manufacturers with safety being a top priority in this industry.
Video Footage of the Incident
A frightening incident has caught on video recently a fire that originated in the under-seat storage of an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter. Fortunately no one was harmed during incident although exact date and time of it unknown. Event highlight importance of safety standards for electric vehicles and manufacturers need to be more vigilant about their product safety.
Potential Causes of the Fire
As of now there is no definite answer regarding what caused the fire. However, some have suggested that a short circuit in the scooter’s electronics might have ignited the fire, and not the battery pack. Further, extinguishing the flames with water suggests that the battery pack was not involved. Ola Electric has yet to comment on the matter.
Ongoing Safety Concerns in the EV Industry
Indian electric vehicle sector has witnessed a series of fire incidents over the past few months with three Okinawa electric scooters catching fire since October 2020. More recently, scooters from Ola Electric, Pure EV and Jitendra EV have also been affected. Tragically one these incidents, resulted in a fatality. The source of these fires has not been identified yet. These events raised questions about safety of electric vehicles and India gov now pressured to investigate fires determine how prevent future incidents.
Addressing the Issue
In response to safety concerns, Okinawa has recalled 3,215 of its electric scooters to check for any loose connections or battery damage. Similarly, Pure EV has recalled 2,000 units of its ETrance+ and EPluto 7G scooters. Although Ola Electric’s S1 Pro has not been recalled yet, the company is currently working to uncover the problem’s source.
Previous Incidents Involving Ola Electric Scooters
Last year, Ola Electric had to implement a corrective action plan with the recall of 1,441 scooters following a fire incident in Pune. As of yet, the company has not released an official statement regarding the root cause of the mishap. Meanwhile, social media has been abuzz with reports about technical, software, and quality issues in the Ola S1 Pro. These issues range from scooters unexpectedly reversing at high speeds to sudden drops in remaining range posing a risk to the riders’ safety.
The recent fire incident involving an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter in Bhopal has caused fear and worry among citizens regarding the safety of electric vehicles in India. Although the exact cause of the fire is yet to be identified. It is assumed that a probable short circuit might have been responsible. Multiple electric vehicle fire incidents have been witnessed in the past few months, prompting manufacturers to take stern measures to ensure future accidents are avoided. Thus, product recalls, investigations and corrective steps are essential to prevent such occurrences.
