Videos of an Ola electric scooter going up in flames in Pune have left Twitter questioning the safety and quality of the product within just months of its launch.
One of Ola’s S1 pro electric scooters caught fire while it was parked by the side of a road in the city on Saturday. Videos showed plumes of smoke emerging from the vehicle, and eventually, it was engulfed in flames.
A witness shouted “The battery has caught fire”.
Ola has said that it is investigating what caused the fire. The company added it is in contact with the vehicle’s owner, who is safe.
Read : Ola S1 pro electric scooter catches fire in Pune, company says investigation on
Overheating of the battery is suspected to have led to the incident. "Please apply cooling system in ola scooter," a Twitter user name Kaushik suggested. In summer, there is not shade everywhere to park scooter."
Hormazd Sorabjee, the editor of automobile magazine Autocar India, said the incident highlights safety issues with batteries. " Ola Electric must investigate and give us answers. Thank God no one (was) injured."
Ola scooter in flames highlights safety issues with batteries. NMC cells more prone to ‘Thermal Runaway’ or spontaneous fires than LFP cells. @OlaElectric must investigate & give us answers. Thank God no one injured and # burnol not needed! pic.twitter.com/kupn2fANTP— Hormazd Sorabjee (@hormazdsorabjee) March 26, 2022
Ola needs to explain the reasons for the fire and if at fault, tender an apology and refund/replace for the loss.
Ola has issued a statement regarding the scooter fire -
2/2 pic.twitter.com/sASRmHGkfw— evoIndia (@evoIndia) March 27, 2022
Meanwhile, Ola emphasised that safety was its top priority.
"We are aware of an incident in Pune that happened with one of our scooters and are investigating to understand the root cause and will share more updates in the next few days," the company said. "We take this incident seriously and will take appropriate action and share more in the coming days."
Safety is top priority. We’re investigating this and will fix it. https://t.co/HsTFh4cbhw— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) March 26, 2022
