Ola Electric to recall 1,441 e-scooters after Pune fire incident

After a major fire incident with Ola S1 Pro electric scooter on March 26 in Pune, the Bengaluru-based company has decided to conduct a pre-emptive diagnostic and health check on as many as 1,441 scooters, the company has said. As per Ola, it was a "thermal incident", which could be an isolated one. "Our internal investigation into the March 26 vehicle fire incident in Pune is ongoing and the preliminary assessment reveals the thermal incident was likely an isolated one," the latest statement by Ola said.

On March 26, an Ola S1 Pro had caught fire in Pune, the video of which went viral on social media. No one was hurt in the incident as the vehicle was parked when the incident happened. Ola had vowed to investigate the matter and take appropriate action.

This is a "pre-emtive measure", Ola said, adding the company will conduct a "detailed diagnostic" and "health check" of the scooters in that specific batch that are being recalled.

These scooters will go through a diagnostic across all battery systems, thermal systems as well as safety systems, the company said.

Electric vehicle companies in India have come under the government radar after a series of explosion incidents with e-scooter batteries. There have been four similar incidents of e-scooters catching fire in the past four weeks. Three people had lost lives in two different separate incidents about electric scooters.

The government said electric vehicle makers should voluntarily recall all defective EVs. The directive came amid the government think tank NITI Aayog floating the draft of a battery swapping policy for public comments.

Taking a strong note of such incidents, transport minister Nitin Gadkari has said it's most unfortunate that some people lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents.

“We have constituted an expert committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders to the defaulting companies. We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for electric vehicles,” he said. Gadkari also warned that if any company is found to be negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.

Battery explosion incidents

Last week on April 20, one person was killed and two others were injured in a house in Nizamabad, Hyderabad after the battery of a Pure EV e-scooter exploded while it was being charged. On March 25, an Okinawa e-scooter also claimed the lives of two people in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The deceased, 49-year-old Durai Verma and his daughter Mohana Preethi, died of asphyxiation after they left their brand-new Okinawa scooter charging overnight. The scooter caught fire, while also subsuming the house in flames.

On April 11, 40 Jitendra EV e-scooters caught fire all of a sudden, as they were loaded on a transport container. All these incidents have cast doubts over the EV hype in the country and have forced the Centre to revisit its policy toward the EV manufacturing industry.

Besides Ola, other EV firms have also recalled their e-scooters to check the battery issues. Okinawa Autotech, the second-largest e-scooter retailer, announced a voluntary recall of 3,215 units of Praise Pro scooters. PURE EV also called 2,000 units from the ETRANCE+ and EPLUTO 7G models following incidents of fire.

Battery explosion incidents

Last week on April 20, one person was killed and two others were injured in a house in Nizamabad, Hyderabad after the battery of a Pure EV e-scooter exploded while it was being charged. On March 25, an Okinawa e-scooter also claimed the lives of two people in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. The deceased, 49-year-old Durai Verma and his daughter Mohana Preethi, died of asphyxiation after they left their brand-new Okinawa scooter charging overnight. The scooter caught fire, while also subsuming the house in flames.

On April 11, 40 Jitendra EV e-scooters caught fire all of a sudden, as they were loaded on a transport container. All these incidents have cast doubts over the EV hype in the country and have forced the Centre to revisit its policy toward the EV manufacturing industry.

Besides Ola, other EV firms have also recalled their e-scooters to check the battery issues. Okinawa Autotech, the second-largest e-scooter retailer, announced a voluntary recall of 3,215 units of Praise Pro scooters. PURE EV also called 2,000 units from the ETRANCE+ and EPLUTO 7G models following incidents of fire.