Okinawa Clarifies Cause of Dealership Fire That Raised Eyebrows

A dealership of electric scooter maker Okinawa Autotech in Tamil Nadu caught fire on Saturday. The company has now clarified that the incident, which was seen in videos shared online, was ​​"due to an electric short circuit" in the building and was not related to its electric scooters stored or on display there. However, Okinawa scooters have been reported in cases of catching fire in the recent past. The Gurugram-based company also last week recalled over 3,200 scooter units to check and fix potential issues related to battery safety.

Okinawa Autotech denied any link between its electric scooters and the fire incident in Tamil Nadu. "Please note that the fire was due to an electric short circuit in the panel wiring in the building. The dealership has also confirmed the same," the company said in a statement to Gadgets 360.

Videos appearing on social media over the weekend showed that the Okinawa dealership in question was destroyed in a blaze shortly after the fire began to spread. Users raised concerns due to previous incidents in which Okinawa scooters were known to have caught fire.

In addition to Okinawa, companies including Ola Electric have caused consumer safety concerns due to the incidents of their electric scooters catching fire in the last few weeks. Local authorities are also said to be probing such issues, though no official response has been shared with the public so far.

Last week, 20 electric scooters from Nashik-based Jitendra EV caught fire when they were being transported. The company acknowledged the incident, though it said that no casualties were reported, and confirmed an internal investigation.

Okinawa also recently recalled as many as 3,215 electric scooter units to inspect them for potential safety issues with their batteries. That decision came after complaints of some scooters catching fire in the public emerged on the Web.