Ola Electric Recalls 1,441 S1 Pro Electric Scooters

Ola Electric has issued a recall for 1,441 units of its S1 pro electric scooter to run ‘pre-emptive diagnostics and health check-ups'. The recall is the latest issued by an electric two wheeler manufacturer with Okinawa Autotech and Pure EV also having issued recalls to check for potential fire hazards. The recall is for the batch of scooters manufactured alongside the unit that caught fire in Pune on March 26.

“As a pre-emptive measure, we will be conducting a detailed diagnostics and health check of the scooters in that specific batch and therefore are issuing a voluntary recall of 1,441 vehicles,” the company said in a statement.

The Ola Electric S1 Pro fire in Pune last month was one in a line of EV fire incidents in recent months.

Late last month, an Ola Electric S1 Pro in Pune had gone up in flames with videos showing the scooter smoking by the side of the road and combusting doing the rounds on social media. The incident is one of many that have been reported in the country from single units combusting while parked, battery explosions while charging to a batch of scooters catching fire while being transported. The most recent incident was of a Pure EV scooter battery exploding while being charged in Telangana with the incident claiming one life.

 Also read: Govt Orders Probe Into Electric Scooter Fires 

Ola however has said that the S1 Pro fire was likely an isolated incident based on its preliminary investigation. The investigation is still ongoing the company added. 

“Our battery pack already complies with and is tested for AIS 156, the latest proposed standard for India, in addition to being compliant with the European standard ECE 136,” the company said.

Ola says that its battery packs meet the manufacturing and testing standards including for AIS 156.

After the latest EV fire incidents Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, last week, revealed that the government had constituted an expert committee to investigate the incidents. He also revealed that the government planned to impose penalties on manufacturers with new quality guidelines also set to be issued soon.

India could soon also see a new battery swapping policy being implemented with Government think-tank Niti Aayog releasing a draft policy last week. The policy calls for the set-up of battery swapping stations for electric two- and three-wheelers on a priority basis in metros with a population of over 40 lakhs followed by the development of the infrastructure in other cities. The policy also called for vehicles with swappable batteries to be sold without the battery to provide customers with a lower cost.