Incidents of fire accidents reported in electric two-wheelers, informs ministry

New Delhi, March 28 Incidents of fire accidents have been reported in electric two-wheelers manufactured by Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors, Minister of State for Heavy Industries, Krishan Pal Gurjar, said in a written reply submitted in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

"As per information received from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), incidents of fire accidents have been reported in electric two-wheelers manufactured by Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors. The prototypes or components of electric vehicles are tested by the testing agencies notified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, for compliance to standards notified by the MoRTH," said the reply.

The MoRTH had constituted an investigating team of independent experts from DRDO, Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru, and Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, to investigate the root cause of fire in EVs and recommend remedial measures.

As per the reply, the MoRTH had also constituted a committee of experts to suggest formulation of safety standards for the battery and its components, BMS and related systems in electric vehicles.

Based on the recommendation of the committee, the ministry has brought amendments to the automotive industry standards (AIS). The said amendments are applicable from December 1, 2022 and some clauses of these AIS will be effective from March 31, 2023, said the reply.