Tata Nexon Electric Catches Fire In Mumbai

This is the first Tata Nexon EV fire incident that has been reported since its launch

EV fires are not a rare phenomenon these days. We have seen EV fires take place from time to time. Even in a country like India where EV market is still in the budding phase, we have seen EV fires in electric scooters produced by various startups.

But that doesn’t mean that EV fire hazards are only confined to startups or inexperienced manufacturers only happen in a country like India. EV fire hazards occur in the US too. Most of these EV hazards come from esteemed EV manufacturers like Tesla Motors and General Motors.

Tata Nexon Electric Catches Fire – Mumbai

Nexon EV is the highest selling electric car of India. Every month, about 2,500 to 3,000 units of the EV are sold. Until now, there has been no reported incident of Nexon EV catching fire. But yesterday, a Tata Nexon electric SUV caught fire in Mumbai’s Vasai area. Videos of the same have gone viral on social media.

As per a reader, the owner of the car had charged his Nexon EV with a normal slow charger installed at his office. After driving about 5 km in slow traffic commute towards his house, he heard clicky sounds from the car. Soon he was treated with flashes of warnings on the instrument cluster which made him park it at the side and get out.

Video shared by Twitter user KamalJoshi108, we can see firefighters spraying water on the burning Nexon EV. Even though a burning electric car can’t be doused with water, it can be beneficial in controlling the fire from spreading to the surroundings. EV fires take a longer time to douse, as individual cells are subjected to a chain reaction and will burn individually or in small clusters.

Tata Motors official Statement – Nexon EV Fire

Tata Motors notified Rushlane – “A detailed investigation is currently being conducted to ascertain the facts of the recent isolated thermal incident that is doing the rounds on social media. We will share a detailed response after our complete investigation. We remain committed to the safety of our vehicles and their users. This is a first incident after more than 30,000 EVs have cumulatively covered over 1 million km across the country in nearly 4 years.”

Why did it happen?

It is anyone’s guess as to why Nexon electric caught fire. Some of the reasons include – Battery overheating due to overcharging or fast charging can cause EV fires. A battery compromised in a crash also caused fire. Battery chemistry, design and cooling also form a paramount reason why EVs catch fires.

There are a million permutations and combinations that could have led to the fire hazard that happened with the Nexon EV in question. We will have to wait for Tata Motor’s investigation report as to why it happened.