MoRTH issues probe into Secunderabad EV showroom fire

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued a probe into the recent incident of an electric two-wheeler dealership going up in flames in Secunderabad. The cause of the fire appeared to be a short circuit. The building that caught fire housed the Gemopai electric vehicle showroom on the ground floor, with a hotel above it. Gemopai, which is a joint venture between Goreen E-Mobility and Opai Electric, claims to have sold more than 1.5 crore electric two-wheelers worldwide.

Preliminary reports reveal that the ground floor also housed gas cylinders, a generator and electric scooters. The MoRTH will send a team of experts to the dealership after the police submits its preliminary findings. Recent reports suggest that four people have been arrested.

This isn’t the first incident of an electric scooter going up in flames, with the likes of Ola, Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV and Jitendra EV Tech also suffering similar incidents in the recent past.

In fact, in recent times, the MoRTH has urged EV manufacturers to step up and improve the quality of their products to prevent thermal runaway issues.

According to the latest draft, additional safety requirements have now been put in place for battery cells, battery management systems (BMS), onboard charger, battery pack design and thermal propagation due to internal short-circuits, which can lead to fires. The new norms will come into effect from October 1, 2022, and have also been opposed by a segment of the industry stating that the time period for implementation is too less.