1441 Ola S1 Pro electric scooters recalled as pre-emptive measure

Following the recent burning of its electric scooter in Pune last month, the Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ola Electric has recalled 1,441 units of its S1 Pro scooters. The recall has been made by the EV maker for the scooters that were built in the same batch as the scooter that caught on fire. Ola Electric said that this is a pre-emptive measure which is part of a detailed diagnostics and health check.

The Bangalore based mobility firm stated that the occurrence in Pune was most likely an isolated case and it reaffirmed that the safety credentials of their battery pack, comply with AIS 156 which is the country’s most recent battery legislation. Ola also added that it complies with the European standard ECE 136 as well.

The company in its official statement about the recall said, “Our internal investigation into the March 26 vehicle fire incident in Pune is ongoing and the preliminary assessment reveals that the thermal incident was likely an isolated one,” it also added that “As a pre-emptive measure we will be conducting a detailed diagnostics and health check of the scooters in that specific batch and therefore are issuing a voluntary recall of 1,441 vehicles.”

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As of recent a ton of electric scooters across the nation have been involved in various incidents of burning to the ground, and this has raised a lot of questions in the minds of EV buyers and manufacturers. Even the government of India has now ordered a probe into the incidents and has asked the manufacturers to take extreme caution in the production of these vehicles.

The union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, taking cognisance of these repeated incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire said that the government will announce ‘quality-centric’ guidelines for manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs) while also warning them of heavy penalties in case of negligence. Recently, the minister also asked the EV automakers of the nation to voluntarily recall automobiles and recommended harsh penalties for those that do not comply. In addition, he stated that an expert group has been formed to investigate similar events.

He stated, “Several mishaps involving Electric Two Wheelers have come to light in the last two months. It is most unfortunate that some people have lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents,”. The minister in a series of tweets said, “We have constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. Meanwhile, companies may take advance action to Recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately. Under the leadership of PM [email protected] ji, our government is committed to ensure safety of each and every commuter.”

In the most recent case of EV scooter fire, a third electric scooter from Pure EV caught fire. The incident happened in Telangana’s Nizamabad district on Wednesday and unfortunately, the life of an 80-year old man was claimed in the accident. Furthermore, four more members of the family got severe burn injuries. Pure EV comes with a detachable battery that comes out of the scooter to charge. The police said that the battery was being charged when it caught fire. The deceased was identified as B Ramaswamy. His son B Prakash is a tailor and he has been using a Pure EV electric scooter for the past year.

The sub-inspector investigating the incident said that Prakash took the battery out from the scooter and put it on charging at 12:30 AM. Ramaswamy, Prakash’s mother Kamalamma and son, Kalyan were sleeping in the living room when the battery exploded around 4 AM. He added that Prakash and his wife Krishnaveni also suffered minor injuries while fighting the flames.

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