The Bangalore based startup, Ather has issued a statement after a video showing one of its 450X electric scooters catching fire went viral a few days ago. This incident took place in Bangalore and has been a hotly discussed topic.
Nobody was hurt in the incident
The statement explained that the incident took place due to an incorrectly torqued connector which resulted in sparking and eventually, set the wiring harness on fire. Reports of scooter fires in the past were usually linked with battery thermal runway issues, but the company has stated that its Battery and BMS were unaffected by the fire. It also said that the rider of the two-wheeler is safe.
“Our safety systems kicked in immediately and cut off further power flow limiting the damage. However, the wiring harness had unfortunately caught fire by then.” The company mentioned in its statement.
The company has also said that it will update its manufacturing processes and upgrade its equipment to ensure that incidents of the sort don’t take place anymore.
“This was a rare human error on our part and we have since then updated our manufacturing operations, upgraded our equipment and introduced a two-step verification process for this process to prevent any such future occurrences.” The company said in its statement.
While incidents like these always raise questions about the company’s manufacturing practices. It is good to see a manufacturer take responsibility and make changes.
