The country's third largest electric 2 W maker Hero Electric has now become the latest victim of reports of electric two-wheelers e 2 W like Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV and others catching fire. While the others have collectively recalled 7000 e 2 Ws after government intervention, it is not clear whether Hero Electric will take the same route. A Photon scooter - a 1.9 KWh lithium-ion battery pack - was charred after catching fire while it was charging, according to the latest instance of fire in Odisha.
Headed by Naveen Munjal who started the company in 2007, this is the first time Hero Electric's scooters have caught fire. The company said it was due to a short circuit. The convergence of heat, oxygen, and fuel makes battery fires more likely to occur.
When contacted, the customer said he heard abnormal cracking sounds and discovered that fumes were coming from the electric switchboard of the home, adjacent to a scooter and sparks were continuously falling on the floor and a can of paint lying nearby. By the time he went to switch off the mains and get back to try and put off the fire, it spread and burnt the rear part of the scooter and some household belongings, the company said.
Their technical team that later visited the spot and analysed that the rear part of the scooter was burnt, and the most probable cause of fire was the AC phase and earth wires of home coming in contact with each other short circuits and the malfunctioning of the fuse that should have been cut off in the event of such short circuit. Hero Electric said that they had offered to customer any help in replacing the burnt parts on cost basis and thoroughly testing his refurbished scooter for road worthiness.