Now Benling India's electric scooter explodes as govt seeks answers

Hyderabad/New Delhi: There is no stopping EV fires in India and now, an electric two-wheeler belonging to Gurugram-based Benling India has exploded while being charged in Telangana.

According to the local police, no one was injured during the incident and they were yet to receive a complaint.

The incident occurred in a village in Karimnagar district of Telangana and some portions of the e-scooter were burnt after the explosion.

According to local media reports, Egurla Odelu purchased a Falcon e-scooter from the company just two months ago. He put the battery on charge before going to bed on May 8 night.

The battery exploded "within minutes after it was put on charge".

Benling India, on its website, says it offers "beautifully crafted electric scooters in high and low speed ranges in 53 countries including India".

Late last month, an 80-year-old man was killed and two others injured when the battery of a Pure EV electric two-wheeler exploded in their house in Telangana's Nizamabad district.

In yet another tragic incident just three days later, a 40-year-old man died after a blast occurred in an e-scooter belonging to Boom Motors while being charged at home.

The incident in Andhra Pradesh's Vijayawada also left the deceased Kotakonda Siva Kumar's wife and two daughters with severe burn injuries.

To date, at least 12 electric two-wheelers have exploded and several EV makers have recalled the faulty batches amid the growing heat from the government.

The preliminary findings from the government-constituted probe committee on electric vehicle (EV) fires have spotted issues with battery cells/design in nearly all of the electric two-wheeler (2W) fire incidents in the country.

The committee was constituted in the wake of EV fires and battery blasts in e-scooters belonging to Okinawa Autotech, Boom Motor, Pure EV, Jitendra EV, and Ola Electric.

The experts found defects in battery cells as well as battery design in nearly all EV fires.

The government is now working on new quality-centric guidelines for electric vehicles.