Following Recent EV Scooter Fires, Okinawa Issues Recall of 3,215 Praise Pro Scooters

Okinawa Autotech has announced that it will recall 3215 units of Praise Pro scooters to fix any issue related to batteries with immediate effect. While the company says that this is a part of its health check-up camp, it does come at a time when electric scooters are under scrutiny for catching fires. Okinawa says that the batteries will be checked for loose connectors or any damage and be repaired free of charge at any of the Okinawa authorized dealerships across India. To carry this out, the electric two-wheeler maker is working with the dealer partners to ensure that the repair experience is as per the convenience of its customers, for which the vehicle owners will be contacted individually.

This voluntary campaign is in the wake of the recent thermal incident and in line with the company’s commitment to customer safety.

Electric Scooters and fires seem to be synonymous these days and now, in perhaps the biggest EV fire accident, recently, 20 brand new electric scooters from a company called Jitendra EV, caught fire and the incident was caught on video. As can be seen, the scooters caught fire while being transported and were within the container when the fire broke out. As per reports, these scooters were being transported from their factory in Nashik. The container had a total of 40 Jitendra electric scooters and the upper deck, containing 20 of these scooters can be seen on fire. This incident took place on April 9 and no casualties were reported.

WATCH VIDEO:

Recently, an Ola S1 pro electric scooter was on fire in Lohegaon area of Pune. The 31-second clip was seen showing the scooter parked on the roadside of a busy commercial area, completely engulfed in fire. While the issue is still under investigation, the reason is speculated to be a thermal runaway, where an exothermic reaction occurs inside a lithium-ion battery when it is damaged or short-circuited. A lithium-ion battery on fire is proved to be difficult to extinguish. In contact with water, it immediately produces hydrogen gas and lithium-hydroxide. Hydrogen gas is a major hindrance due to its extreme flammability. Just to note, the Ola S1 gets a 2.97 kWh battery while the S1 pro gets a 3.98kWh battery.

Whatever the reason may be, an electric scooter catching fire like this is definitely a scary incident and will deter future buyers who would have been interested in considering the purchase of an electric scooter, especially from the likes of Ola Electric and Jitendra EV.

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