The Centre government on March 28 decided to appoint a
team of independent experts to probe two incidents of electric two-wheelers
catching fire. An Ola electric scooter and an Okinawa electric bike recently
caught fire which left many customers worried.

“Centre has taken note of the incidents involving fires
in electric vehicles; will probe them… Deputing independent experts to
investigate cases of EVs catching fire,” reported CNBC-TV18 quoting government
sources.

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A team of experts will travel to Vellore and Pune to
investigate whether structural or external factors have caused the fire in the
Okinawa electric bike and the Ola electric scooter.

Notably, both two-wheelers had been tested and received
type approvals before their launches. The experts will try to figure out if
there is a manufacturing fault that affected their operation.

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According to a Reuters report, lithium-ion batteries
(used in Ola scooters) can catch fire if they have been improperly manufactured
or damaged, or if the software that operated the battery is not designed
correctly.

Last week, Softbank Group-backed Ola Electric said that
it has also started an investigation to find out what led to the electric
scooters catching fire.

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Ola launched the investigation after a Twitter user from
Pune shared a video of his Ola scooter bursting into flames.

In its response, the company said “We are aware of an
incident in Pune that happened with one of our scooters and are investigating
to understand the root cause and will share more updates in the next few days.”
The customer is absolutely safe, the company added.

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Okinawa Autotech has blamed the incident that claimed two
lives on a faulty charging point resulting in a short circuit induced fire. In
a statement on Monday, Okinawa said, “In this particular case has further
brought to light how important it is for users to understand the correct usage
and charging guidelines for EVs.”

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Okinawa claimed that as a responsible brand, it has taken
a lot of initiatives to create awareness and educate its customers about the
proper use of electric two-wheelers and about the potential hazards they could
face if they fail to take proper care of the vehicle’s battery.