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Okinawan electric scooter showroom in Mangaluru reportedly burned down. - Okinawa has claimed that the incident was caused by a short circuit.
- This is the second
Okinawa showroom burn down this year.
In yet another setback to the country’s electric vehicle industry, an Okinawa electric scooter showroom in Mangaluru, Karnataka is said to have burned down, destroying several scooters on display.
According to a report by
Udayavanian Okinawa dealer named Smart City Motors in Naguri, owned by a person named Hamid, caught fire in the early hours of today.
Hamid lives above the showroom with his family and his wife was reportedly the first person to see smoke coming from the showroom around 7 a.m. and warned her son.
Shortly after the fire was reported, the fire brigade arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. Although the showroom has been stripped, fortunately there were no casualties.
Hamid’s son informed Udayavani that the main MCBs in their house have failed several times and that they have turned it down as they attributed it to power cuts caused by rain.
Update at 5pm – Okinawa has approached https://londonbusinessblog.com/ India with an official statement about the incident.
“We were informed this morning of an unfortunate fire incident at one of our showrooms in Mangalore. As the dealer states, the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit. We are in contact with the dealer and we are extending all necessary support. Safety is at the core from Okinawa Autotech and we want to ensure the highest safety standards are maintained in our dealerships across the country,” Okinawa said in a statement to https://londonbusinessblog.com/ India.
Not the first Okinawa incident
In April of this year, an Okinawa dealership in Chennai burned down, destroying several scooters before the blaze was brought under control by locals.
In the same month, Okinawa had also recalled more than 3,100 Praise Pro electric scooters, claiming it was part of a “comprehensive powerpack health check.” The company had claimed to check the batteries for any damage and repair them free of charge.
The regular fire incidents have had a bad influence on the brand. In May, the company reported a nearly 20% drop in sales compared to April.
Earlier this week, a Tata Nexon EV reportedly caught fire and the government has ordered a probe. The government is already investigating the electric scooters that have burned down in recent months. The NITI Aayog had also asked EV companies to recall parties involved in fire incidents.
The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) had filed a report allegedly blaming companies like Okinawa and Pure EV for using “substandard materials to cut costs.”
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