EV fires: Firms should voluntarily recall batches involved in recent cases, says Amitabh Kant

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant (Illustration: Moneycontrol)

NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant on April 13 said the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) should voluntarily recall the batches of electric vehicles involved in the recent fire accidents.

Similar measures taken by firms such BMW and Volvo had resulted in creating a sense of confidence among consumers, the chief of the government’s think tank told CNBC-TV18.

Kant insisted that batteries needed special attention as they are “complex in terms of manufacturing and maintenance”. "Manufacturing of cells isn't regulated... Battery management system needs to be strengthened. There has been a clear partnership between battery manufacturing and battery management," he said.

Also read: EV fire: Centre orders probe in Jitendra Electric Vehicle case

All lithium-ion cells are imported in India as of now.

Kant added that India has the world's stringent testing standards and that manufacturers should ensure that all batteries are certified with them.

"We have stringent testing standards but OEMs need to certify batteries adhere to standards," he said.

Amid the growing concerns over the safety of EVs, Kant said “there is nothing to panic about”, saying that every transition, across the world, has had its own challenges. "As technology matures, there is a learning curve of electric vehicle."

In the last two weeks, five incidents of EVs going up in flames were reported from different parts of the country.

Forty scooters of Jitendra Electric Vehicles caught fire in a transport container in Nashik recently. Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooters vehicles, too, caught fire in recent weeks, casting a shadow over the prospects of a nascent but fast-growing industry.

Talking about the probe ordered into these incidents, Kant said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was examining all issues.

He also said the government would take stringent measures based on the investigation report of the technical committee examining the cases. A team of the ministry team was also interacting with the OEMs.

The fire incidents were a wake-up call for the industry to get its act together, Naveen Munjal, managing director of Hero Electric, the country’s largest electric two-wheeler maker, told Moneycontrol recently.

The government may get stricter with battery standards and how quickly one can launch the product following these incidents which have owners worried, Munjal said.