Bombay:
Safety and performance of electric scooters remain the top concerns for customers, amid a spate of fire incidents involving these vehicles of late, prompting consumers to reconsider their plans to purchase e-scooters, according to an online survey.
In addition, the percentage of people who were not convinced of the safety and performance of an electric scooter rose to 32 percent in August this year, compared to just 2 percent in the same month a year ago, according to a survey by online platform LocalCircles.
The survey received responses from more than 11,000 household consumers from more than 292 counties, with 47 percent of respondents from tier-I and 33 percent from tier-II cities. The remaining 20 percent of respondents were from tier-3/4 and rural districts, according to LocalCircles.
One of the main concerns of the people remains the fires reported in electric scooters. Consumers of various makes of these vehicles have reported fire incidents, which many of the manufacturers have attributed to the battery, LocalCircles said.
While standards are being developed for these scooters and batteries, involving multiple government stakeholders, the process is time-consuming, it said.
After more than two dozen e-two-wheelers caught fire between March and April of this year, the central government issued an advisory on April 21, urging EV manufacturers to immediately recall all defective batches of vehicles as a precaution, otherwise risking risk. them a severe penalty.
Subsequently, about 7,000 electric vehicles were recalled.
The government has also set up a committee of experts from the Center for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) and the Indian Institute of Science to conduct detailed research and develop “quality-oriented” guidelines for electric vehicle manufacturers.
His recommendations are still awaited.
The survey found that while many people are eager to buy e-scooters, which are an attractive alternative to non-electric two-wheelers or crowded public transport, concerns about safety and performance are growing.
“The impact of this concern is that only 1 percent of the more than 11,000 respondents in the survey shared plans to buy an electric scooter in the next six months,” it noted.
In response to a survey question as to why they or their family members do not plan to buy an e-scooter in the next 6 months, 5 percent said they were willing to buy, but were not convinced of the available e-scooter infrastructure. scooters, while another 7 percent said they have no money to buy it.
“In addition, 32 percent of respondents are not convinced about the safety and performance of electric scooters, while 2 percent believe that EVs are a fad that will disappear,” the report said.
The survey also found that the demand for e-scooters is not great as 31 percent of households do not drive them and another 9 percent share that they have enough vehicles in their home and thus had no plans to have a two-wheeler. cyclist.
With just 1 percent of households in the country considering buying an e-scooter in the next six months, it is critical for government and industry to gain consumer trust, it said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)