Gadkari asks companies to recall defective EVs, warns of penalties

Minister's statement came hours after PureEV e-scooter catches fire in Hyderabad, causing the death of one person

The government will penalise e-scooter companies violating safety and it wants immediate recall of defective batches of vehicles, said Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, on Thursday.

The ministry has formed an expert committee to investigate two-wheelers fires that caused deaths and injuries and make recommendations. "Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders on the defaulting companies. We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles," Gadkari said in a series of posts on Twitter.

His statement came hours after a PureEV e-scooter caught fire in Hyderabad, causing the death of one person and injuring two. Earlier, a similar incident had also caused two deaths in Tamil Nadu.

"Meanwhile companies may take advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately," said Gadkari.

Hours before the tweet, Pure EV ordered a recall of 2000 of its e-scooter units amid the rising safety concerns. Last week, EV manufacturer Okinawa Autotech had also recalled 3215 of its Praise Pro scooters.

On 13 April, NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant had also asked EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to voluntarily recall their batches which were embroiled in the fire controversy.

The road transport ministry had earlier asked Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), an arm of Defence Research and Development Organisation to investigate the incidents of Ola and Okinawa e-scooters catching fire in separate incidents. The Ola two-wheeler, which went ablaze at the side of a road in Pune, was shown fully charred, in a video that had gone viral on social media.

The ministry is also reportedly working on a new policy, which could see improved battery quality standards imposed on these manufacturers.

Some sector experts believe that the lithium-ion batteries, imported from countries with different weather conditions, are not suited for Indian temperatures, and the hotter months to follow could pose even bigger challenges for the struggling two-wheeler EV space.