Tata Nexon EV Fire In Mumbai To Be Investigated: Is It A Safety Hazard Or A One-Off Incident?

The Tata Nexon EV has for a while now, been the best electric car in India. It offers a decent mix of performance, range, charging time, and practicality. This combination has made it the bestselling electric car in India. In addition, the Tata Nexon EV boasts a brilliant 5-Star GNCAP safety rating.

With all this in mind, there is no questioning the safety aspect of the Tata Nexon EV. However, in recent times, there have been a few electric scooter fire incidents that have sounded the safety alarm. Now, with this Tata Nexon EV catching fire, electric cars too would come under the scanner.

The video of the Tata Nexon fire was shared by journalist Kamal Joshi on Twitter. It is said to have happened at Vasai West, in Mumbai. Reports state that the owner of the car slow charged the Nexon EV in his office and was heading home when the incident happened.

It is also said that there was no high-speed driving as the electric SUV was being driven in traffic. There were a few clicking sounds and a few warning lights on the dashboard before smoke started pouring out from the battery pack.

Soon, the vehicle caught fire and the cells in the battery started exploding one after the other. The fire department soon rushed to the scene with tenders and tried to put the flames out. However, the fire tenders used water to douse it instead of foam, which is not the right thing to do.

Water is an excellent conductor of electricity and this led to more cells in the battery pack bursting into flames. The flame will eventually spread to every other cell in the battery pack. The Tata Nexon EV is said to have more than 7,000 cells in the battery pack.

Should Tata Nexon EV Owners Be Worried?

This is a one-off incident and owners of the Tata Nexon EV shouldn't be too worried. The primary reason for a few electric scooters to burst into flames is the fact that the cells used in the battery pack aren't tempered for Indian conditions and temperatures, which simply means, it runs hot. In other words, most electric scooters lack adequate cooling.

This isn't the case with electric cars like the Tata Nexon. These cars have enough and more space under the hood to implement a comprehensive cooling system and they therefore run cooler and more efficiently, irrespective of the ambient temperature.

Taking the additional cooling into account, it is difficult to come to a conclusion about the cause of the fire in this Tata Nexon.

Tata Motors was quoted as saying, "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 the first incident after more than 30,000 EVs have cumulatively covered over 100 million km across the country in nearly 4 years."

Thoughts On Tata Nexon EV Fire In Mumbai

The Tata Nexon EV is the bestselling electric car in India and it is one of the safest electric cars in India too. We're sure Tata Motors would conduct a thorough investigation into the incident as it wouldn't risk losing its reputation. We await details from the investigation.