EV fires: Probe team's initial findings blame battery designs

New Delhi: The government-formed probe committee on electric vehicle (EV) fires inferred in their preliminary findings that most of the two-wheelers involved in the fire accidents in the country- including the lethal battery explosion reported in Telangana- had battery design issues, IANS reported.

The committee was constituted last month after EVs manufactured by the companies Okinawa Autotech, Boom Motor, Pure EV, Jitendra EV, and Ola Electric burned after battery blasts.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric, one of the EV manufacturers who sold units that ended up in a fire, told IANS that in addition to an in-house probe, they had commissioned world-class agencies to investigate the root cause behind the issue. The company said that preliminary findings suggest that "it was likely an isolated thermal incident."

"Our battery pack already complies and is tested for AIS 156, the latest proposed standard for India, in addition to being compliant with the European standard ECE 136," the company said.

However, the company had voluntarily called back 1,441 sold units to conduct diagnostics.

This week, the Delhi High Court had issued notice to the Centre and the Delhi government while hearing a plea that sought directions for mandatory insurance.

In Telangana, an 80-year-old man was killed and two others injured when Pure EV's two-wheeler exploded in their house in the Nizamabad district. Another incident took the life of a 40-year-old and left his wife and two daughters with severe burn injuries in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada. In this case, the EV, which blasted while charging, was manufactured by Boom Motors.