Electric vehicle fire cases: Government to create SOP for battery certification

The government has formed a committee to formulate new guidelines for electric vehicles and as per the sources, it is set to submit its report by this month. The Centre earlier sent show-cause notices to EV manufacturers like Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech and Pure EV, among others, warning them why a penal action should not be taken against them for delivering faulty electric two-wheelers to the public. Last month, the Central Consumer Protection Authority, which comes under the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry, sent notices to Pure EV and Boom Motors after their e-scooters exploded in April. The preliminary findings from the government-constituted probe committee on EV fires also identified issues with battery cells or design in nearly all of the electric two-wheeler fire incidents in the country. These defects occurred because the electric two-wheeler manufacturers like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors may have used "lower-grade materials to cut costs", the earlier Defence Research and Development Organisation probe had revealed.