Government Stops All New Electric Two-Wheeler Launches Over Fire Safety Issues

According to the report by the Economic Times, the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways convened a meeting with electric two wheeler manufacturers yesterday (April 27). The meeting was called to address the rise in incidents of electric two wheelers catching on fire in recent times.

Speaking to the Economic Times, an official who was privy to the details of the meeting stated that the government had verbally dissuaded electric two wheeler manufacturers from launching new vehicles. The government told the two-wheeler EV manufacturers that until there was clarity with regards to the cause of the fires and proof that steps required to stop them had been firmed up, no new electric two-wheeler would hit the market.

Two-wheeler EV manufacturers whose vehicles had caught fire in recent times were ordered to voluntarily recall all vehicles from the same batch as the one that ignited. The official stated that most manufacturers had already started the process.

Last week, Nitin Gadkari, the Minister for Road Transport & Highways had called for EV two-wheeler manufacturers to recall their e-scooters after a spate of fire incidents were reported. Following the Minister's call, manufacturers like Ola Electric, Pure EV and Okinawa Autotech had issued recalls for more than 7,000 vehicles.

The Minister's call for recalls was once again relayed to automakers at the meeting convened by the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways. The government also warned two-wheeler EV makers that it had the power to force recalls and penalise errant manufacturers as per the provisions under the Motor Vehicle Act.

Speaking to the Economic Times, the official also gave out information with regards to the other electric two-wheeler automakers present in the meeting whose vehicles have not been involved in the fire incidents. The official told the Economic Times, "Manufacturers who did not have incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire have also been cautioned to take corrective actions on their sold vehicles. The ministry has asked EV makers to educate consumers about charging safety and how to prevent fire incidents."

Thoughts On the Government's Move To Stop New Electric Two Wheeler Launches

The spate of fires over the past few weeks caused by electric two-wheelers have resulted in quite a few injuries and unfortunately also caused one person to lose thier life. The outcry against these EV fires is building up, and the government has decided to finally put its foot down and deal with this rather alarming phenomenon.

By putting a pause on new electric two-wheeler launches, the government has shown its cards and is ensuring that these EV makers don't continue to put profits over safety. Hopefully, this rather forceful step by the Indian government will finally ensure that EV makers in India take the safety of their customers seriously instead of treating them like an afterthought.

These fires have already caused irreparable damage to the reputation of EVs and the loss of life is something that we find abhorrent especially when we're trying to make vehicles safer for everyone on the road.