Okinawa's voluntary recall of electric scooters could set a precedent for others

Okinawa Autotech has issued a voluntary recall of 3,215 Praise Pro electric scooters following the recent fire incidents. This marks the first-ever voluntary recall in the Indian electric vehicle market by any company. This may set a precedent for the electric vehicle manufacturers in India, considering that Ola Electric, Pure EV and Jitendra EV Tech's name too have been involved in the recent EV fire incidents.

As part of this voluntary recall program, Okinawa will have all its Praise Pro scooters checked for loose connectors. Any such troubleshooting will be done at no extra charge at all is pan-India dealerships, said the EV company. "This voluntary campaign is in the wake of the recent thermal incident and in line with the company’s long-standing commitment to customer safety," the company added in its official statement.

With Okinawa taking the first step to address the concern of fire risk in electric scooters, it is to be seen if other electric vehicle manufacturers follow the suit and recall their respective EVs to create a sense of confidence in their consumers.

Around half a dozen fire incidents involving electric vehicles have been reported over the last fortnight. These fire incidents have dampened the sentiment of potential and existing consumers of electric vehicles, especially electric scooters that have been spearheading the electric mobility revolution in India for quite some time.

The recall by Okinawa comes after Cente for Fire Explosive and Environment Agency (CFEEA) had been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the fire incidents. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) had also asked CFEEA to suggest remedial measures to prevent such incidents.

Besides the fire risk, electric scooter owners have been facing a raft of issues lately. These include poor build quality, software glitches, vehicles getting stranded on road with range display vanishing, etc.