Ather Energy Issues Statement On Chennai Dealership Fire; Likely Cause Being Accidental Damage

Ather Energy discovered a crack in the battery casing during the pressure washing process, and water entered into the casing leading to a thermal runaway event, causing the smoke and the fire.

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A fire broke out at Ather's Chennai Dealership on May 27.

A fire incident had been reported in Ather's Chennai dealership on May 27, and videos of the event were making rounds on social media. To which Ather Energy quickly responded by saying that there were no injuries in the incident, and an official statement will be issued soon. Now, less than a day later Ather has disclosed the cause of the fire through an official statement.

Before you hear it from others, there has been a minor fire incident at our premises in Chennai. While some property and scooters got affected, thankfully all employees are safe and things are under control. The experience centre will be operational shortly.

— Ather Energy (@atherenergy) May 27, 2022

According to Ather, the fire was caused in a vehicle that had recently been involved in an accident. Once the vehicle had been brought in for servicing & repairs, the employees performed a high pressure wash on the scooter, and a crack in the battery casing was revealed. The water that entered the casing in the washing process exposed 224 cells within the battery, leading to a thermal runaway event which led to the smoke and fire.

Here's an update on yesterday's incident in Chennai pic.twitter.com/OcHN3avo5F

— Ather Energy (@atherenergy) May 28, 2022

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Ather however claimed that upon observing the crack in the battery, "the vehicle was isolated from other vehicles and moved to a safer area". Ather also said that no other scooter was damaged in the incident, which was conflicting to previous reports of 4 scooters being damaged in the fire. Ather also stated that the screws surrounding the battery were found to be replaced and had non-standard parts of varying lengths, which could've exacerbated the issue.

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