Amid the backlash that Ola has been receiving over the recent electric scooter fire incidents, CEO Bhavish Aggarwal on Thursday claimed that electric vehicles (EV) catching fire is a global phenomenon and that it happens in vehicles made by international companies as well.
Taking to Twitter, Aggarwal shared a clip of a Tata Nexon EV which caught fire in Mumbai's suburban Vasai. "EV fires will happen. Happens in all global products too. EV fires are much less frequent than ICE fires," he tweeted.
In case you missed it @hormazdsorabjeeEV fires will happen. Happens in all global products too. EV fires are much less frequent than ICE fires. https://t.co/gGowsWTKZV
— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) June 23, 2022
But Bhavish Aggarwal's comment raised concerns among Twitter users.
"You still did not get the thing didn't you Bhavish? You have a fantastic product. I personally desire it. But the way some failures have come across are life threatening man. Should have been solved with software team working full thrust and ASAP!" tweeted user APT! (@imahungrybiker).
"But what’s the ratio? If EV fire will happen maybe it’s not right for any company to release a product until the research and development team overcomes it. I’m sure the number of Tesla EVs catching fire like Ola scooters is 1:100 with sales volume. Can we expect Ola cars to catch fire?" asked Manhar Singh (@Manhar_Aman).
Another Twitter user Chetan Shetty (@chethszone) commented, "You are saying EV fires happen, so casually. Do people's lives matter?"
There were, however, a few who defended Aggarwal's stand on EV fires.
"What he means is however strong quality measures a manufacturer have had in place. There will always be some exceptions wherein fires will happen," wrote Harsh Narayan (@hurshnarayan).
Recently, there have been several incidents of EVs catching fire in various parts of the country following which the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry issued a notice to Ola Electric, sources told CNBC-TV18. It gave Ola Electric 15 days to reply to the notice.
Read more: Ola S1 pro electric scooter catches fire in Pune, company says investigation on
The EV fire incidents also forced manufacturers to recall their vehicles.
In April, Ola Electric had recalled 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers. The company stated its battery systems already comply with and is tested for AIS 156--which is the latest proposed standard for India--in addition to being compliant with the European standard ECE 136.
Read more: Watch: Angry Ola customer pours petrol on electric scooter, lights it on fire
