In a first, Tata's electric four-wheeler catches fire; govt orders probe

In a first for an electric car in India, a Tata Nexon electric vehicle (EV) caught fire on Wednesday evening in a Mumbai suburb. This comes against the backdrop of numerous reports of fire mishaps involving electric two-wheelers.

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 for the incident, a company spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement.

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.

“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 after more than 30,000 EVs have cumulatively covered over 100 million kilometers across the country in nearly four years,” the spokesperson added.

Government probe

Meanwhile, the government has also ordered an independent enquiry. “We have ordered an independent enquiry to investigate the Nexon EV fire incident,” a senior official said on Thursday.

The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, have been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the incident and also suggest remedial measures, he added. 

DRIVING INTO SPEEDBUMPS

• This is the first time an e-car has been involved in such an incident in India
• Tesla saw one vehicle catching fire for every 210 million miles travelled between 2012 and 2021
• 640 EVs caught fire in China in the first quarter of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 32%
• In the US, there is a vehicle fire for every 19 million miles travelled

While there is no point of reference of e-car fires in India, given the small market size, it’s not unheard of globally.

The incident comes at a time when Tata Motors’ EV arm, Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, has chalked out an aggressive plan to build its 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 plans to launch other models over the next three years. Tata Motors’ e-passenger vehicles sales jumped to 3,454 units in May from 476 units in the corresponding period last year.

The largest-selling e-carmaker by unit sales globally, Tesla, saw one vehicle catching fire for every 210 million miles travelled from 2012 to 2021 approximately.

In comparison, data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the US Department of Transportation shows that there is a vehicle fire for every 19 million miles travelled in the United States.

Approximately 640 EVs caught fire in China in the first quarter of 2022, a 32 per cent year-on-year increase, which is equivalent to seven electric cars catching fire per day, according to data released by the Chinese Fire and Rescue Department of the Ministry of Emergency Management on April 3, as reported by carnewschina.com.