Taking the recent EV fire accidents into consideration, Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport & Highways has expressed his concerns. In a tweet, Nitin Gadkari said, “It is most unfortunate that some people have lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents.”
However, he said that the government has gathered an expert panel to look into these incidents and offer its recommendations. Based on the suggestions, Gadkari said necessary orders will be issued to defaulting companies and will “soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles.”
Nitin Gadkari announced that EV makers can issue a voluntary recall for defective scooters immediately. He said, “If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed, and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered.”
This comes at a time when Pure EV issued a recall for 2000 electric scooters over the recent fire accidents, which the company claims is part of a defective batch.
Apart from Pure EV, an electric scooter made by Ola also caught on fire, while incidents occurred involving Okinawa and Jitendra Electric Scooters. Okinawa reported multiple such accidents — one that included a dealership that burnt down and another that claimed to lives. Also, a truck carrying EVs made by Jitendra Electric Scooters went up in flames, just before it was set to be dispached to Bangalore.
