In a first in India’s nascent e-passenger car market, a Tata Nexon EV caught fire last evening in a Mumbai suburb. While there have been numerous fire mishaps involving e-two wheeler brands, this is the first time that an e-car has burst into flames. Tata Motors said it is investigating the incident and remains fully committed to all aspects of safety.
A detailed investigation is currently being carried out to ascertain the reasons behind the isolated incident that is doing the rounds on social media, a company spokesperson said in a statement.
In December 2020, Hyundai Motor India recalled some 456 Kona electric cars as part of the global recall programme to fix the “suspected defective” production of high-voltage batteries. This was after as many as 13 such incidents had been reported in countries including one each in Canada and Austria.
Also Read: Tata Motors aims to build 80,000 EVs this financial year: Report
Reportedly, the owner of the two-month old e-Nexon escaped unhurt. He reached out to the company’s call centre after he saw the fumes coming out. The call centre advised him to abandon the car immediately. A few minutes later, it burst into flames.
The incident has left Tata Motors, which leads the e-passenger car market in India with its best-selling e-Nexon, in shock. The model went on sale in January 2020. It has launched an investigation into the incident to ascertain the cause of fire.
“We will share a detailed response after our complete investigation. We remain committed to the safety of our vehicles and their users. This is a first incident after more than 30,000 EVs have cumulatively covered over 100 million km across the country in nearly 4 years,” the spokesperson added.
The incident comes at a time when Tata Motors’ EV arm, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility has chalked an aggressive plan to build its EV portfolio and is looking to make the most of the government’s electric mobility push. Besides the e-Nexon, it sells the Tata Tigor EV and has plans to launch various e-models including a born electric car, over the next three years. Led by the e-Nexon, Tata Motors’ e-passenger vehicles sales jumped to 3,454 units in May from 476 units in the corresponding period last year.
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