Fire incident at Mangaluru showroom due to short circuit, says EV maker Okinawa

Mumbai: Electric two-wheeler maker Okinawa Auto Tech on Friday said the fire incident at its showroom in Mangaluru was due to an electric ”short circuit”.

”We are aware of an unfortunate fire incident at one of our showrooms in Mangalore this morning. As stated by the dealer, the fire was caused due to an electric short circuit,” Okinawa Autotech said in a statement on Friday.

”We are in touch with the dealership and we are extending all the necessary support,” the company said.

”Safety is at the core of Okinawa Autotech and we want to assure that the highest standards of safety are maintained in our dealerships across the country,” it added.

The fire incident in an Okinawa showroom took place a day after videos of a Tata Nexon EV catching fire in Mumbai emerged and the government subsequently ordered an independent probe into the incident, which is also being investigated by the company.

This is the second such incident occurring at the Gurugram-headquartered EV maker’s showroom in the recent past as earlier in April this year one of its outlets in Tamil Nadu was engulfed in flames.

At that time also, the company had clarified that the fire was due to a “short circuit.” Besides Okinawa and Tata Motors, incidents of fire in the EVs of other manufacturers such as Ola Electric and PureEV have also taken place in the recent past.

Following multiple incidents of electric vehicles (EVs) catching fire and resulting in death and severe injuries to people earlier this year, the government set up an expert panel “to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps.” The panel is expected to submit its report by this month-end.

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on April 21 also assured that any company found to be negligent will be penalized.