This, however, is not the only incident when an electric car caught fire in India. In April this year, a Tata Nexon EV caught fire in Pune. No passenger was hurt due to the incident. The Nexon XZ+ model was involved in the incident. As per government data, the car was registered in July 2022.
According to a company statement, the fire occurred due to the replacement of the original headlamp at an unauthorised workshop. “We understand that this vehicle recently underwent repairs, wherein the left headlamps were replaced at an unauthorised workshop,” the statement read.
In June last year, a similar incident happened when a Tata Nexon EV caught fire near the Panchvati Hotel in Vasai West. No casualties were reported due to this incident and the reason behind the fire remained unknown.
Later, Tata Motors issued a statement regarding the incident and said that it was conducting a detailed investigation regarding the incident. “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. We will share a detailed response after our complete investigation,” the statement read.
But why do electric vehicles catch fire? Battery packs inside EVs store a lot of energy in a very small space. When damaged, an internal short circuit triggers a chain reaction known as thermal runaway. Following this, the battery pack generates more heat than it can dissipate and catches fire.
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