PureEV recalls 2,000 electric scooters after battery explosion kills man in Telangana

Highlights

• PureEV has recalled 2,000 units of eTrance and ePluto 7G electric scooters.
• An 80-year-old man died after a PureEV scooter battery exploded in his house.
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had called for companies to voluntary recall faulty scooters.

EV manufacturer PureEV has recalled 2,000 units of its electric scooters after an 80-year-old man died in Nizamabad, Telangana, following an explosion of the scooter battery while it was being charged overnight. Three others were injured in the accident. PureEV expressed regret over the incident and has issued a recall of its eTrance and ePluto 7G scooters.

Notably, the death of the 80-year-old in Nizamabad is not an isolated incident involving PureEV. On the same day, a video emerged from Warangal, also in Telangana, showing a red-coloured ePluto PureEV electric scooter up in flames on the roadside. The incident in Warangal was the fourth fire incident since September 2021 on PureEV’s dubious record list. Two e-scooters manufactured by PureEV had caught fire in Hyderabad in September last year, while another such incident was reported from Chennai in March this year.

The recall comes after another EV manufacturer Okinawa issued a recall of 3,215 units of its electric scooter following a spate of fire incidents, one of them which was fatal.

PureEV statement over EV fires

“In view of the recent fire incidents involving our vehicles in Nizamabad and Chennai, PURE EV has decided to recall 2,000 vehicles from the models ETRANCE and EPLUTO 7G of the concerned batches,” PureEV said in a statement. “The vehicles and batteries therein shall undergo a thorough check for their health. The company shall inspect the battery for any imbalance issues and shall calibrate through its device BATRICS FARADAY. Additionally, the BMS and charger calibration shall be carried out as required,” it added.

pic.twitter.com/5ZbvptO9jp

— PURE EV (@pureevindia) April 21, 2022

Government orders investigation, recalls

The recall comes at a time when Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, through a series of tweets, emphasised the need for stricter checks and guidelines for EV manufactures in the country and suggested heavy penalties for defaulters. He added that companies may consider recalling units which they think might be faulty and endanger lives.

Meanwhile companies may take advance action to Recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately. Under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi ji, our government is committed to ensure safety of each and every commuter.

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) April 21, 2022

Also Read

20 Jitendra EV electric scooters catch fire in container in Nashik

Ola, Okinawa, Pure EV fire incidents: Why do electric vehicles catch fire and how to avoid it?

Pure EV e-scooter catches fire in Chennai: Should we be concerned about thermal safety of e-scooters?

On April 21st, government think tank NITI Aayog came out with a draft battery swapping policy for electric vehicles, suggesting incentives and a rigorous testing protocol for swappable batteries. Last month, the government had ordered a probe after an Ola S1 Pro electric scooter caught fire in Pune.

Ather CEO Tarun Mehta has suggested that imported batteries that are not adequately tested for Indian weather conditions may be defaulting and causing these fires.

The post PureEV recalls 2,000 electric scooters after battery explosion kills man in Telangana first appeared on 91mobiles.com.

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