Okinawa Dealership in Tamil Nadu Catches Fire, Company Claims Due to Electric Short Circuit

Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Okinawa Autotech on Monday said that the fire at its dealership in Tamil Nadu was due to an electric short-circuit in the building.

Okinawa, which recalled 3,215 units of its ‘Praise Pro’ scooters on April 16, just before the dealership was engulfed in flames in Tamil Nadu, said in a statement shared with IANS that no EV scooter or battery fire started the incident.

“The fire was due to an electric short-circuit in the panel wiring in the building. The dealership has also confirmed the same," the company said.

No casualties were reported and the fire was put out with the help of locals but the entire showroom was gutted.

This was the sixth EV fire incident since the onset of summer this year.

While recalling ‘Praise Pro’ e-scooters, Okinawa Autotech had said that this voluntary campaign is “in the wake of the recent thermal incident and in line with the company’s long-standing commitment to customer safety".

According to the company, the recall has been initiated to fix “any issue" related to batteries.

“The batteries will be checked for loose connectors or any damage and be repaired free of charge at any of the Okinawa authorised dealerships pan India," the company said.

On March 26, a father-daughter duo died due to a blast in the battery of their Okinawa scooter which was being charged at their home.

Late last month, a blue-coloured Ola S1 Pro e-scooter that was parked on the side of the road in Pune caught fire. The scooter burst into flames which soon engulfed the entire vehicle.

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As more and more electric two-wheelers catch fire in the country, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant last week asked EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to voluntarily recall batches involved in the EV fire incidents.

Several electric two-wheelers belonging to Jitendra Electric Vehicles caught fire in Nashik on April 9.

The government has called technical teams of Ola Electric and Okinawa Scooter for an explanation on recent fires in their EVs.

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