Electric vehicle (EV) makers, faced with a problem of defective models after more than two dozen electric two-wheelers caught fire recently, are not replacing their batteries but only tweaking the wiring and connectors, people in the know have said.
Ola Electric, Okinawa and Pure EV have recalled electric two-wheelers to fix battery-related issues, but since the battery is a sealed unit, it cannot be opened or tampered with.
“It is technically impossible to break the battery seal. The faulty battery needs to be replaced, which I doubt any manufacturer will do,” said Sohinder Gill, chief executive of Hero Electric, and president of the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).
The loose connectors, wiring outside the battery, input and output to the battery, and the charger set up – all these are being checked, after which the EV is handed back to the customer, Gill said.
It is not clear how the manufacturers are diagnosing the problem and resolving the battery-related issues, sources said.
Government testing agencies Automotive Research Association of India and the International Centre for Automotive Technology are working on a more stringent certification process for batteries which is likely to be announced in the next two months, Gill added.
To assuage customer concerns regarding their electric two-wheelers after the fire incidents, SMEV and its dealers have initiated standard operating procedures to educate potential customers of charging and other issues related to battery design, he said.
Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari recently urged manufacturers to voluntarily recall affected vehicles, and they have announced the same. However, there are indications that the process may not be a success unless there is clarity on whether these companies are willing to replace the battery itself.
Ola Electric and Okinawa did not answer ET’s specific queries on the recall process and how the companies were planning to replace the battery. Pure EV did not respond to questions.
Multiple sources told ET that Ola Electric was yet to recall a single vehicle and that the company was still figuring out the process as it does not have a distribution and service network like other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
The company said the recall process was “ongoing” but did not disclose how many vehicles it had recalled so far.
“As you know, Ola has announced a voluntary recall to conduct pre-emptive diagnostics and health check on 1,441 scooters. This is ongoing,” an Ola spokesperson said. “These scooters will be inspected by our service engineers and will go through a thorough diagnostics across all battery systems, thermal systems as well as the safety systems.”
Ola said the company supports the adoption of an EV safety policy and standards architecture in India “to ensure high quality products which enhance customer confidence and grow the nascent EV industry.”
“Our battery pack already complies and is tested for AIS 156, the latest proposed standard for India, in addition to being compliant to the European standard ECE 136,” its spokesperson added.
Okinawa, which recalled 3m215 Praise Pro scooters, has received and serviced 2,631 scooters so far. “We are conducting proper vehicle and battery pack check-ups through the extensive drive ‘Power Pack Check-up Camps’ all across the country at our authorized dealerships,” said a company spokesperson.
“The recalled vehicles are being called under our Power Pack Campaign which is managed by the company’s technical engineers through Okinawa Authorized Dealerships. These engineers are well-trained and well-versed with the complete know-how of the vehicle and checking thoroughly the vehicle and battery for all technical quality checkpoints. If any repairs or replacements are required, we are doing so at no cost to the customer,” the spokesperson added.
Pure EV, which has also seen several incidents of fire involving its electric scooters, is recalling 2,000 units of its ETrance+ and EPluto 7G models.
The probe looked into fire incidents involving three companies, including Ola Electric, which is backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group, and was the country’s top-selling e-scooter maker in April.
