Hero Electric Photon catches fire while charging

Electric two-wheelers are catching all the attention for the wrong reasons due to various incidents of them catching fire. In recent times, several incidents involving scooters from Ola Electric, Okinawa, Pure EV and Jitendra EV catching fire were reported throughout the country. The latest entrant in this unfortunate list of electric two-wheelers is Hero Electric. Recently, a Hero Electric Photon caught fire in Odisha, which has once again brought attention to the safety concerns related to electric two-wheelers.

This incident has been reported from Odisha, where a Hero Electric Photon caught fire, while it was being recharged overnight. In its initial report, Hero Electric stated that this unfortunate incident happened due to a possible cause of short-circuiting at the socket. It is the first time that a scooter from Hero Electric has come under scrutiny due to the ongoing events of electric scooters catching fire.

Fire due to short circuit

The customer of the Hero Electric Photon has explained how this incident took place. After keeping his scooter on charge overnight, he heard abnormal cracking sounds. He then came to know that fumes were coming from the electric switchboard, where the scooter was kept on charge. When he reached the spot to switch off the mains, the scooter had already burnt from the rear, around the spot where the battery is placed in it.

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A spokesperson from Hero Electric has responded by saying that a possible root cause of this unfortunate incident is the earth wires of the home and AC phase coming into contact with each other, which might have resulted in short-circuiting. He also added that Hero Electric has offered all the possible help to the customer for the replacement of the damaged parts on a cost basis while testing his scooter for roadworthiness.

The Hero Electric Photon is one of the highest-selling models from Hero Electric, the number one electric two-wheeler manufacturer which has sold more than 450,000 electric two-wheelers in India to date. The Photon gets a 1.9 kWh lithium-ion battery, which offers a maximum riding range of 90 km and claims a top speed of 45 km/h.

This incident of Hero Electric Photon has fueled the already raging debate on the implications of safety mechanisms in the electric two-wheeler industry. In recent months, we have seen an Ola S1 Pro and scooters from Okinawa, Jitendra EV, Boom Electric and Pure EV scooters catching fire on open roads. A couple of such unfortunate incidents have also claimed the lives of the owners of these scooters, which has forced the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to enforce strict actions and introduce new guidelines for the electric two-wheeler industry.

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