40 e-scooters of Jitendra EV catch fire, company launches probe

New Delhi, April 11

There is no stopping fires in electric vehicles (EVs) and now, reports have surfaced that at least 40 electric two-wheelers belonging to Jitendra Electric Vehicles caught fire in Nashik.

According to a CNBC-TV18 report, 40 electric scooters of Jitendra Electric Vehicles, a Shah group's venture, caught fire in a transport container in Nashik on April 9.

The company was investigating what led to the fire. The container with 40 EVs was en route to Bengaluru.

"We are investigating the root cause and will come up with the findings in the coming days," the company was quoted as saying.

No one was injured in the incident.

The latest EV fire joins the growing list of such incidents - five so far -- in just two weeks -- forcing the government to initiate a probe.

The government last week decided to call technical teams of Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooter for an explanation on recent fires in their EVs, after an independent expert probe is completed soon.

After Ola Electric and Okinawa e-scooters caught fire and raised alarms in government circles, another electric scooter of Hyderabad-based Pure EV caught fire in Tamil Nadu.

The company said it was investigating the incident.

The Okinawa e-bike went up tragically in flames due to an electrical short-circuit in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, leading to two fatalities.

Okinawa Autotech had said that they adhere to the highest quality standards in their electric scooters. "This particular case has further brought to light how important it is for users to understand the correct usage and charging guidelines for EVs," the company said in a statement.

The battery manufacturers are cautious and are assuring exhaustive tests and technology to deal with the overheating issue.