India to Investigate Tata EV Fire Caught on Video

Workers inspect Tata Nexon electric sport utility vehicles (SUV) at a Tata Motors plant in Pune. File photo: Reuters.

The Indian government said it would launch a probe into why a Tata Motors electric vehicle (EV) caught fire in a Mumbai suburb.

A number of social media users recorded and posted what they said was the fire that engulfed a Tata Nexon.

The video showed firefighters trying to extinguish the fire on a street in Vasai West, a suburb of Mumbai. Reuters was unable to independently verify the video.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation, a government agency, would lead the investigation, the official said.

The company said this was the first such EV fire, having sold more than 30,000 EVs, the bulk of which are its Nexon model.

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“A detailed investigation is currently being conducted to ascertain the facts of the recent isolated thermal incident that is doing the rounds on social media,” Tata Motors said in a statement.

“We will share a detailed response after our complete investigation,” India’s biggest manufacturer of electric cars added.

The incident follows a spate of e-scooter fires that have triggered an investigation by the Indian government.

Initial findings of the federal probe into three e-scooter makers, including SoftBank-backed Ola Electric, found faulty battery cells and modules to be the leading cause of fires, a report said last month.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola’s chief executive, wrote on Twitter in response to the Tata fire: “EV fires will happen. Happens in all global products too. EV fires are much less frequent than ICE (Internal combustion engine) fires.”

The Indian government wants electric models to make up 30% of total passenger car sales in the country by 2030, up from about 1% today, and e-scooters and e-bikes to account for 80% of total two-wheeler sales, up from about 2%.

Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell

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George Russell

George Russell is a freelance writer and editor based in Hong Kong who has lived in Asia since 1996. His work has been published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Post, Variety, Forbes and the South China Morning Post.