Ola Electric may have to explain reasons for S1 Pro fire in Pune to Centre

Ola Electric may soon have to explain the reasons for its electric scooter catching fire to the Centre. Days after a probe was ordered by the government into EV fire incidents across the country, the secretary at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways hinted at an explanation from the EV maker. Last month, one of Ola Electric's S1 Pro scooter caught fire in Pune, triggering safety concerns of EV two-wheelers. The incidents come to light at a time when the EV two-wheeler segment has been witnessing phenomenal growth across the country.

Giridhar Aramane, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, was quoted by news agency PTI on Thursday saying, “If required, the government may call Ola Electric to explain the incident."

The Centre has roped in the Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) to probe the EV fire incidents. The government has also asked the agency, which comes under the SAM (System Analysis and Modelling) cluster of DRDO labs, to share preventive measures and scopes for improvement to avoid similar incidents in future.

Earlier, responding to the fire incident, Ola Electric had ordered an independent investigation. The EV maker had said, "We are aware of an incident in Pune that happened with one of our scooters in Pune and are investigating to understand the root cause and will share updates in the next few days. We take this one incident seriously and will take appropriate action and share more in coming days."

Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO at Ola Electric, also expressed concerns and said, “Safety is top priority. We’re investigating this and will fix it."

The EV two-wheeler segment has seen a staggering 370 percent growth in the last month. With nearly 50,000 electric two-wheelers sold in March, India saw 2.31 lakh EV two-wheelers sold between April, 2021 and last month. Compared to the previous fiscal when EV two-wheelers found only 41,046 homes, it is a massive increase of 564 percent.

The electric scooters currently available in India mostly come packed with lithium-ion batteries. Whether used in electric vehicles or electronic devices, these batteries can catch fire if they have been improperly manufactured or damaged, or if the software that operates the battery is not designed correctly.