Another electric scooter of Okinawa catches fire

An Okinawa Praise Pro electric scooter

Another Okinawa Praise Pro scooter caught fire in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The incident happened on April 30 while the owner was driving the electric vehicle (EV), reported CNBC-TV18. This is the fourth incident of fire in an Okinawa electric scooter.

It is also reported that the driver is safe as he jumped off the vehicle.

The company said the owner who had bought the scooter last year, had not brought it for servicing for months despite several reminders by the dealer.

A few days ago, on April 18, an Okinawa Autotech dealership burnt down to ashes in Tamil Nadu owing to a reported fire in an e-scooter belonging to the company. Just before this incident, on April 16, the electric two-wheeler manufacturer recalled 3,215 units of its 'Praise Pro' scooters.

On March 26, in the tragic incident, a father and daughter were killed when an unknown model Okinawa electric scooter caught fire in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

In the last few months, many fires in electric vehicles, e-scooters belonging to Okinawa Scooters, Ola Electric, Jitendra Electric and Pure EV, have been reported in the country raising concerns about the safety of riders and the durability of the scooters in the long run.

More recently, at least four incidents involving vehicles by Ola, Okinawa and Pure EV bursting into flames were reported.

Concerned over the increasing number of electric two-wheelers catching fire, the government has intensified investigation into these incidents, strengthening the team with more specialists.

In light of the recent spate of battery-related fires occurring inside electric two-wheelers across the country, the Union government on April 28 asked all e2W (electric two-wheeler) brands to refrain from launching any new products in the market.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on April 13 asked EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to voluntarily recall batches involved in the EV fire incidents. Earlier, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, had told the Lok Sabha, that the EV fire cases had said that the incidents may have taken place due to higher temperatures.

All testing requirements for batteries, battery management, and cells are now being updated amid mounting worries about safety issues. The government is in talks with companies involved in recent EV fires.