To prevent electric car fires, manufacturers are still learning about EVs (Electric Vehicles) and testing agencies have not yet determined what exactly needs to be evaluated. stated Pawan Goenka, former Managing Director of M&M and auto industry veteran.
Automotive leaders have stated that tight processes must be followed during the testing and development of electric vehicles and that companies should not rush to market.
“If we go back 15-20 years back, we had seen such kind of things with internal combustion engine cars as well… because we were not aware at that time as what needs to be done,” said Goenka, currently the Chairman, & National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).
EVs are growing & hence “a little bit of that (fire incidents) is bound to happen. I wouldn’t say that manufacturers are taking it lightly. I would not like to believe it”, he also said.
While conceding that the fire incidents can provide the entire EV industry a “bad name”, Goenka affirmed, “I don’t think any manufacturer by design is being careless, it is just that we don’t know enough right now.“
It is a learning procedure and is growing very quickly. The government is also moving very strongly on checks that are needed, he said, adding, “even the testing agencies do not know exactly what needs to be tested to ensure that there are no electric vehicle fires“.
“There’s also a process we have to go through when we even change a line or equipment in terms of an approval process. So I think the process needs to be followed. As long as the process is followed, we won’t run into these problems often,” Kapur said to the reporters here while asking about the current fire incidents in the electric two-wheelers.
He also said that there must be a priority on industry parties as to how they can launch and develop the products in the market.
“There are also a lot of new vehicle manufacturers who have not manufactured vehicles in the past that are coming into this space…and therefore we’re going to have to see how those manufacturers evolved in terms of their technologies, in terms of the adoption and adaptation of the technologies and manage that process better,” said Kapur.
