According to Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, Scooter fires are uncommon
According to Aggarwal, fire safety in the automotive industry extends beyond electric vehicles.
There may be more fires in electric scooters in the future. Still, according to India’s Ola Electric CEO at a private company event following a fire in one of its scooters in March, such incidents are sporadic.
Ola’s e-scooter fire was one of several recent incidents that sparked outrage on social media and prompted an investigation by the Indian government.
The company, which Japan’s SoftBank Group backs, has recalled over 1,400 e-scooters and appointed external experts to look into the problem.
When asked about the fires at a private event on Sunday, chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal responded, “Will there be occurrences in the future? There might be.”
In a recording from the event, he described the fires as “very rare and isolated. The company also previewed a new operating system for its e-scooters.
According to Aggarwal, fire safety in the automotive industry was a broader issue than electric vehicles (EVs). Who added that gasoline-powered vehicles required more quality control regulations than EVs.
According to Ola Group’s chief financial officer Arun Kumar. More gasoline-powered scooters have caught fire than electric models, and this problem affects the entire two-wheeler industry.
According to Reuters, the initial findings of the government investigation into the e-scooter fires revealed. An issue with Ola’s battery cells and battery management system. However, the company said its battery management system was not at fault.
Incidents of e-scooter fires involving Indian start-ups Okinawa and PureEV are also being investigated.
“Sometimes, there will be some minor defects in the cell, maybe something else. Which will cause some internal short circuit,” Aggarwal explained. Adding that Ola had only one incident among its 50,000 e-scooters on the road.
