Softbank’s investment (9984.T) Ola Electric announced on Sunday that 1,441 of its electric scooters will be recalled, weeks after one of its vehicles caught fire, prompting a federal investigation.
Scooters made by Indian start-ups Okinawa and PureEV have also caught fire, in what some see as an early setback for a new industry critical to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s carbon reduction and climate aspirations.
Last month, India initiated an investigation into the fires and appointed an expert committee to give recommendations on how to deal with the situation. This month, Okinawa issued a recall for 3,215 automobiles.
“We will undertake a full diagnostics and health check of the scooters in that specific batch and, as a result, are issuing a voluntary recall of 1,441 vehicles,” Ola Electric said in a statement released on Sunday.
India wants electric scooters and motorcycles to account for 80% of total two-wheeler sales by 2030, up from just 2% today, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is providing companies billions of dollars in incentives to manufacture EVs in the country.
Ola stated it supported an EV safety policy and that a preliminary investigation into a fire in one of its vehicles found it was an isolated incidence, and that the recalls were a “pre-emptive step.”
